Something about Cambridge in the fall—the colorful leaves, undergraduates attempting to look morose in careful layers of (let’s acknowledge it, plaid) clothing, cadenced conversations rising from patios and bricked walkways—it feels as incredibly American as…apple pie ice cream from Lizzy’s on Church Street. A bit precious, maybe, but delicious. To follow that, I made a [...]

I’ve always been fascinated by the Italian whey cheese ricotta and its ability to go from sweet to savory to salty (ricotta salata). Turns out ricotta is easy to make (with cow milk substituting for sheep). While it traditionally provides creamy inner layers for lasagna, fresh ricotta is even lovelier on top of pasta and [...]

The poetry world is rather upset this week about the “pirated poetry anthology” Issue 1, published as a .pdf (3,785 pages) by Stephen McLaughlin and Jim Carpenter. A Kristen Taylor is included, and her poem on page 104 is titled “Coats made without courage”. I find the project amusing and imagine the editors rounded out [...]

I’ve joined the Goodreads book community, and I may post a review on kthread from time to time. Below is the first review I’ve written for the site, which is a very active community of readers and reviewers. Let me know if you’d like me to send the book to you now that I’ve finished [...]