Author Archives: Matthew Arnold Stern
Charlottesville
I will get back to the Writing Reseda series, but I need to say a few things about what happened yesterday in Charlottesville, Virginia. Oddly enough, this is a story about Reseda and something that happened to me 40 years ago. It is about the first display of overt and direct anti-Semitism I ever experienced.
Writing Reseda: Hillside versus flatland
Here’s the first thing you should know about the San Fernando Valley: The Valley Girl from the “really good part of Encino” doesn’t represent all of us. In fact, there are parts of the Valley where she’s despised.
Writing Reseda: Introduction
Location, location, location. It’s as critical in writing as it is in real estate. Think about John Steinbeck and Salinas, James Joyce and Dublin, and Henry David Thoreau and Walden Pond. A place can shape and inspire a writer. You can guess which place inspires me. Then again, this place has inspired a lot of …
A prayer for Anthony Scaramucci
If you’ve been following my website, you’d assume that a member of the Trump administration would be the last person I’d express sympathy for — especially the (UPDATE: former) White House Communication Director Anthony Scaramucci. He went off on his fellow staffers as if someone told him to go get his shine box. (NSFW link, …
When you feel like giving up
Important: If you or someone you know is threatening to commit self-harm, call your emergency service number (911 in the United States) immediately. For additional assistance in the United States, contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. When you are in a safe place, please read on.
