Writing is how we explore our place in the world

Introducing Mr. Blok

Cover of Mr. Blok by Gregor PiatigorskyMr. Blok by my father, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, was published posthumously by Adelaide Books.  Excerpts from my introduction in the book are below:

My father wrote Mr. Blok at the prime of his illustrious cello career. I was very young and didn’t read the manuscript until last year. At some point many years ago I asked Papa why he didn’t publish it. “Because if I did,” he said, “both you and your sister Jephta would be expelled from school!” Doubtful, I thought, but he said nothing more.

Time passed and Papa died from lung cancer in 1976; he was 73. The manuscript languished in my mother’s house for 50 more years…. [Read More]

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International Women's Day: Celebrating Female Authors

Celebrating Female Authors

With JK Rowling, Harry literally wouldn't existAs International Women’s Day approached, I asked friends to tell me the names of female authors on their bookshelves or who they liked to read.

Little did I realize the universe I would open up by asking the question. I am so inspired by the number of responses, which include some favorites and some new friends, that I’ve decided to share the list.

If we left your favorite female author off the list, be sure to leave a comment so we can add her […]

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Dead and Alive

Dead and Alive

Cover: Notes Going Underground by Joram Piatigorsky. Original illustrations by Ismael Carrillo

Can dead and alive occur simultaneously? The conventional answer based on science would be no, dead and alive are mutually incompatible states. Death wouldn’t exist without life, and life would need redefinition without death. Death is the final and inevitable consequence of life.

However, stories in my upcoming book, Notes Going Underground, explore the porous barrier between life and death…

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Why Write?

Why Write?

Chapel of Bones in Evora, Portugal (Photo by Joram Piatigorsky)

During a recent talk at the outdoor Lisbon Book Festival, I was asked what drives me to write. While I was satisfied with my answer at the time, I realized I had skirted the question, “Why write?”

The question followed me in as I entered the famous Chapel of Bones in Evora, Portugal. There, a poem on a pillar encourages further reflection.

That last line – “The more you pause, the more you will progress” – makes me wonder whether I write to pause, to reflect and thus progress, whatever that might mean. Do I write to ‘progress’? …

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