Citizenship | Literature
Select novels, short stories, and nonfiction on contemporary life.
Ben East’s nonfiction debut recounts how JFK’s bold experiment shaped diplomatic careers and influenced modern American diplomacy.
The figures highlighted here tracked looted antiquities after the invasion of Iraq, re-established diplomacy in Afghanistan after 9/11, and secured village infrastructure while war raged in Vietnam. As hostages in Iran, they maintained diplomatic discipline to bridge a volatile cultural divide. These are individuals of deep courage and conviction, whether integrating a southern U.S. high school or finding comfort in African village beliefs to cope with personal tragedy.
Read, Listen, Watch
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I concocted a great mystery around the assumption that café lights are fragile things. In this myth, a neighborhood squirrel named Future Pelt deviled me with his mischief, leaving a riddle on my flagstone patio: the socket and intact bulb from the lights dangling overhead. The mystery goes back several weeks, when Future Pelt first…
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This week I spent a few days in an old haunt. Strange, wonderful, electric Maximum City, arriving here six years ago I boarded a train with my wife and sons destined for Mumbai’s iconic Victoria Terminus and, from there, the Gateway of India. Strange city then, you hustled us into the railcar, we all full…
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Potomac magic
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Somewhere inside the school a child navigates a clarinet lesson, Winnie the Pooh notes reaching us, quaint and delightful and timeless.
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I’ll try to feel light and springy
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Patchworks: a government shutdown love triangle.
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Text and photo.
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Shouldn’t we rate ourselves on how our daily grind makes this world a better place?
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the dancers moved us to the center of a great circle, surrounded us singing and shouting and dancing, a lump forming in my throat
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This Super Bowl, I’m rooting for The Cherry Blossoms.
Ben East Books 