Happy Bloomsday!!
June 16, 2022
Why James Joyce’s seminal novel is worth the considerable frustration it may sometimes induce
… More Happy Bloomsday!!
Author: jackcanfora
I'm an award winning and losing playwright and screenwriter; I'm a dad of two great kids, an aggressive spoiler of dogs, and hopelessly addicted to baseball and The Beatles. I have no recollection of ever having worn a mullet, yet photos in the 80's say otherwise.
Judging Judgment (I Know, Too Cute by Half. Not a Promising Start)
June 9, 2022
I’m awfully judgmental for someone who temporarily blinded himself last week by vigorously shaking a bottle of salad dressing with the cap off. How did I get that way and how can I stop? … More Judging Judgment (I Know, Too Cute by Half. Not a Promising Start)
Memorial Day in America
May 31, 2022
So my great uncle was, I think, 19 (let’s say 19) and stationed in England as a private in the US Army on the eve of the Normandy invasion. And he was scared out of his wits. So much so, he placed a call to his oldest brother, my grandfather, and confessed he was thinking … More Memorial Day in America
Words, Words, Words
May 28, 2022
I’m a sucker for words of all shapes, sizes, and especially, sounds, but even at its gaudiest moment of impressionism, its chief function is communication… but when you use “stochastic,” [you’re] not making a good-faith effort to communicate. … More Words, Words, Words
The Numbing of the American Soul
May 25, 2022
each slaughter that sprouts up has chipped away at my humanity, and has created a thicket of scars around what I will refer to, for lack of a more exact term, soul. And these scars have left me largely numb . … More The Numbing of the American Soul
Trying To Get Organized
May 10, 2022
There are people, and you’ve likely met some of them, hell, some of you may even be some of them, who are, and there’s simply no polite way of saying it, organized. You know the type. The types who always take out the correct recycling on the right night. Who never misplace their car keys … More Trying To Get Organized
On Punching Up
April 22, 2022
It’s Not Rocket Science, Although Given My Utter Ignorance of Rocket Science, Maybe Part of It Is But I doubt it. I recently tweeted something on the Twitter machine – a silly, mildly amusing tweet that said, “I have never been harassed or demeaned by Scott Rudin; this isn’t meant to condone his behavior in … More On Punching Up
April, 2022, Meet April, 1945
April 15, 2022
Please accept my apologies for posting two days in a row. It’s generally not a good thing to do with so many of my talented colleagues able to offer so many great pieces. But I felt a need to write this as I lay awake last night, and realized that April is the month American, … More April, 2022, Meet April, 1945
How To Kill Your Darlings. In Your Writing, I mean. Obviously. Not In Some Creepy Jim Jones Way.
April 15, 2022
Hemingway said you should write your story, and then take all of the “best” lines out. Would we like F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Toni Morrison, or James Baldwin half as much if they took our their best lines? S … More How To Kill Your Darlings. In Your Writing, I mean. Obviously. Not In Some Creepy Jim Jones Way.
And Now A Brief Pause In Pointless Overthinking For Some Shameless Self-Promoting
April 11, 2022
PEOPLE OF EARTH : If you’re free and/or bored today at either 1:00pm or 6:00pm American Eastern Daylight Time, please click on a link below to watch a FREE live stream of a reading from New York City of my new play about Dorothy Parker. For those of you who may not know, a play … More And Now A Brief Pause In Pointless Overthinking For Some Shameless Self-Promoting
Things I Think I’ve Learned So Far
April 8, 2022
I had my birthday this week – I had been postponing it for a while now – which means I turned 53. So I got to thinking, “What, if anything, do I feel I can honestly say I’ve learned in this half century and change? Here’s what I’ve come up with, and now I give … More Things I Think I’ve Learned So Far
Allow Me To Use This Space To Express My Opinion That I Have Too Many Spaces To Express My Opinions
April 1, 2022
So, as I have mentioned more often than is dignified, I have a theater company. Specifically, an online theater company we started in 2020. We did well critically in our first season, but the opposite of well in terms of making any money. We were also really bad at even breaking even. Frankly, we weren’t … More Allow Me To Use This Space To Express My Opinion That I Have Too Many Spaces To Express My Opinions
When The Dog Whistle Becomes A Bull Horn
March 25, 2022
I dipped in and out of the confirmation hearings for Judge Jackson this week, because I hate myself exactly that much. I won’t dwell on it here any more than to ask you to consider the following fascinating thought experiment: If, God forbid, there were an accident and Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley were both … More When The Dog Whistle Becomes A Bull Horn
A Pedantic Few Words About Conflating Irrational and Insane
March 12, 2022
I’m no expert in…well the list is too long to leave here, but military matters and deep insights into despots number among them. But I think people who believe Putin has gone crazy do so at their peril. I mean, he is clearly a sociopath, which is a kind of insanity. But that’s not new. … More A Pedantic Few Words About Conflating Irrational and Insane
You Can’t Go Home Again (The Thought of Repacking Alone Will Stop You)
February 20, 2022
By Jack Canfora I normally post on Thursdays, but as you’ll see, I was busy. I hope you don’t mind me barging in on you like this on a Sunday. Yesterday, I stepped out the door of my childhood home for the final time. I moved there in early 1978 (I distinctly recall thinking at … More You Can’t Go Home Again (The Thought of Repacking Alone Will Stop You)
Context > Texting
January 21, 2022
I’ll start with a tangent (can you begin with a tangent? If you’re starting with it, by definition it’s the thing your discussing. Anyway): today in the American Northeast, January is wearing the look that earned it its street cred: impossibly depressing wet snow that can’t even reach the muddy dead grass without corroding into … More Context > Texting
Must Great Artists Act Like Bad People? Joan Didion Had Some Thoughts
January 14, 2022
By Jack Canfora Ok, just to be clear, this isn’t a post debating the merits and debits of cancel culture. At all. So, let’s all take a cleansing breath to celebrate that. However, the recent passing of the peerless writer Joan Didion got me to thinking about what it takes to be a great writer … More Must Great Artists Act Like Bad People? Joan Didion Had Some Thoughts
2022: Some Hopes and Predictions
January 7, 2022
By Jack Canfora Happy 2022! Well, let’s not put too much pressure on ourselves: happy 2022. Better. Punctuation makes such a difference. I’m a little late this week for my Thursday post, but I figure, it’s five o’clock on Thursday somewhere, right? Actually, I just googled this. Turns out that’s wrong. Still. Here are some … More 2022: Some Hopes and Predictions
A Post For Those Who Find The Holidays Challenging
December 23, 2021
By Jack Canfora (But not really – someone way better – and best of all – departed long enough to free me of any copyright issues! Besides, the letter is written to someone named Kappus, which I repeatedly misread as Krappus, so that’s comic gold right there… Rome, 23 December 1903 My dear Mr Kappus, … More A Post For Those Who Find The Holidays Challenging
What The “Get Back” Documentary Taught Me About The Nature of Creativity and Friendship
December 3, 2021
Ok, buckle up; this is a long one. Here are but some of my thoughts on the recent release of the groundbreaking documentary about the Beatles in their final days, “Get Back.” Spoiler alerts ahead, BTW. First off, if you’re a casual fan of the band, if you watch this 8 1/2 hour Odyssey, I’d … More What The “Get Back” Documentary Taught Me About The Nature of Creativity and Friendship