Are We Really So Fearful?

DURHAM, N.C.—It still haunts me, the first time—it was in Chile, in October of 1973—that I met someone who had been tortured. To save my life, I had sought… More

Places of the Heart

New York TimesIt took two years for me to be able walk to the end of my block and not feel a visceral shock each time I looked down… More

Fatima Shaik: Christmas in New Orleans

December 22, 2005 | In These TimesPicture Santa’s sled with a rolling kitchenette attached and you have some idea about the size of a FEMA trailer. >> Read the… More

Fatima Shaik: Masking New Orleans

February 24, 2006 | In These TimesOn Mardi Gras Day, the nation will be looking to New Orleans to see if we are wearing masks. >> Read the story More

What I Heard About Iraq

I heard that Saddam Hussein, in solitary confinement, was spending his time writing poetry, reading the Koran, eating cookies and muffins, and taking care of some bushes and shrubs. More

The Pen and the Sword

In January 1986 I came to New York for a gathering of writers that has become a literary legend. The 48th Congress of International PEN, the global writers' organization… More

Books vs. Goons

A butterfly flaps its wings in India, and we feel the breeze on our cheeks here in New York. A throat is cleared somewhere in Africa and in California… More

Money Can’t Buy Us Democracy

Tehran, Iran--In February, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Congress for $75 million to help Iran's democratic opposition. In Iran , her request was widely discussed in the… More

Contraband

Our digital clocks are now contraband. But if your old digital clock has a radio in it, then it’s not contraband. The new replacement clocks the canteen now sells… More