Some essays, mostly brief, hopefully interesting.
“fukuoka, japan’s next great food city”
Fukuoka began—the way all important love affairs should—with a meal.
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“nueva york”
About my immigrant relationship to NYC. First appeared in New York Times Sunday Magazine, September 17, 2000.
No surprise that in college I would become enamored with the wonders of down-home Japanese cooking. It probably would have been too much … Continue reading →
“the chef”
On essay on how my immigrant self became obsessed with Japanese cuisine. Appeared in the now defunct Gourmet, 2006.
These days I travel to Japan almost once a year. I’m not alone; there’s a whole tribe of gaijin who do … Continue reading →
“homecoming, with turtle”
This is a little one I wrote about my first trip back to the DR after a long long absence. There was a page limit so I couldn’t get into the whole madness. Appeared in The New Yorker, June 14, 2004.
That summer! Eleven years ago, and I still remember every bit of it … Continue reading →
“my girl in amsterdam”
I used to date this wonderful gal in Amsterdam. A little tale about how we broke-up. Appeared in GQ as “Summer Love, Overheated” in August 2008.
Of course I loved her—isn’t that how all these stories are supposed to begin? … Continue reading →
“expatriot games”
I wrote this about the 2008 Superbowl but I can’t for the life of me remember where it appeared. EXPATRIOT GAMES Rome, February 3rd, 2008.
It was a night when titans were set to clash, when history would be made, … Continue reading →
“storyteller-in-chief”
My take on President Obama’s narrative problem. Appeared in The New Yorker Online, January 10, 2010.
It has always seemed to me that one of a president’s primary responsibilities is first and foremost to be a storyteller. We all know … Continue reading →
“predictions for 2010”
A small forecast. Appeared in Speakeasy Blog, The Wall Street Journal Online, January 1, 2010.
2010: a prediction. We won’t cure cancer or AIDS or poverty. We won’t win the war on drugs. On terror. On adult illiteracy. On unemployment. … Continue reading →
“apocalypse”
The first half of a longer polemic on the Haitian Earthquake. Appeared in Boston Review, May 2011.
ONE: On January 12, 2010 an earthquake struck Haiti. The epicenter of the quake, which registered a moment magnitude of 7.0, was … Continue reading →
“the dreamer”
An essay about my mom as a girl trying to get her education. Appeared in More, May 2011.
“I think of my mother, of course. She’s one of those ironwill rarely speak figures that haunt. See her in … Continue reading →
“tokyo”
Written shortly after the Fukushima catastrophe. Appeared in Newsweek. March 28, 2011.
I always had a sense that I would fall in love with Tokyo. In retrospect I guess it’s not that surprising; I was the generation which had grown up in … Continue reading →
“the list”
An essay for struggling writers. Appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine. October 2009.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t write. I wrote every day. I actually worked really hard at writing. At my desk by 7 A.M., would work a full eight … Continue reading →
“first librarian”
Self-explanatory. Appeared in The New York Times, September 18, 2011.
I remember her as small woman but what do I know? I was small myself. She’s in none of the official photographs I have from my elementary school days which … Continue reading →
“the money”
An essay on the one time my family apartment was broken into while we were away on vacation and how I solved the Mystery of the Stupid Morons. Appeared in The New Yorker, June 13, 2011.
All the Dominicans I knew in those days sent money home… Continue reading →
“loving ray bradbury”
A picayune tribute to the great man himself written shortly after his death. Appeared in The New Yorker Online, June 6, 2012.
I was speaking of him only yesterday. I was with someone from the American Association of Publishers and … Continue reading →