As in, I don’t post much here anymore. My observations on the general state of the world have devolved into quick hits on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. I don’t have too much use for Instagram or Snap, though I do aspire to experiment with Slack. If I have something more important to think about, something […]
Happy birthday, Sala of Sala’s Gift, Sala of Letters to Sala, and real Sala, my mom.
March 5, 2015 by
For those who know her as a character in a book or play, my mother is an idea and an inspiration. For my family and me, she’s our real SALA and our beloved mother and grandmother and greatgrandmother. All those Salas come together in notes from strangers who feel like family. In the photo below, students […]
The fine art of UNFINISHING, or why I still like MOOCs.
December 31, 2013 by
I intend to run for 30 minutes today. But it is hot and I stop at 25. I pick up the latest issue of The Economist, drink deeply of an article on Mandela’s legacy, marvel at a stimulating reconsideration of Ozymandias, enjoy a pointed editorial welcoming Bulgarians to the UK. And then I flip aggressively […]
Before they were victims, they were a family.
October 15, 2013 by
So wrote my daughter Caroline, when she posted this picture. We have had many a serious and sometimes contentious conversation about the unbearable weight of history carried by these pictures, and their best and highest purpose. I could not be more proud of her honesty and eloquence here. I know where Sala’s Gift has continued […]
Letter from a Polish reader who is remembering my grandparents today, on the anniversary of the Warsaw uprising.
August 1, 2013 by
I have just read an email sent last night from a Polish reader of SALA’S GIFT and — call me crazy and call me naive — but surely the world is a better place for this woman, who is lighting a candle today, on the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising, in honor of my […]
Flat Stanley and me, or what I did for love of Hannah #highereducation.
April 23, 2012 by
I carried Flat Stanley around for about a month; he and I had a lot of fun touring Zabars, going to the opera, and hanging out in a meeting of the CUNY Presidents. But the best was an unexpected encounter at Oregon State University Library in Corvallis, where I was invited to tour the replica […]
Great line from Czech Radio, “Sala’s Gift: A whole war in a box” #Salasgift
March 17, 2012 by
Met a Czech radio broadcaster in Prague, who posted this about my mother’s letters. Thanks David Vaughan! Sala’s Gift: A Whole War in a Tin Box Went looking for an image of the original box, which of course was cardboard not tin…and was reminded of our beautiful NYPL exhibition. This case, which on July 4 […]
Could Prague have been more wonderful?
March 9, 2012 by
The publication of SALA’S GIFT in Czech was a cause for celebration; that I was there to celebrate in Prague made it all the more wonderful. I had a wonderful three days of meetings and interviews through the efforts of Mlada Fronta, my Czech publisher. I loved working with Tony Koci and Magdalena Potměšilová. We […]
“Letters to Sala” exhibition at Suffolk County Community College opening soon. Jill Vexler and I speaking on November 17@6p.
October 20, 2011 by
“Letters to Sala” exhibit opens November 17 in Selden, New York, at the Suffolk County Community College. Jill Vexler and I will be speaking on November 17@6p. Suffolk Center on the Holocaust, Diversity, and Human Understanding Suffolk County Community Center 533 College Road Selden, New York 11784