Becoming Duchess Goldblatt

by Duchess Goldblatt

Wallace Stevens’s idea of poetry, what he called “sounds passing through sudden rightnesses.”

“She was . . . an untouchable. Not from scorn or fear, but from the obscenity of the loss,” wrote Bill Clegg in his novel, Did You Ever Have a Family.

I mean, in theory, I want to love the world and all humanity. I can certainly see how it would be a good idea.

“We have to love other people regardless of their actions and without any hope of reward. Even our enemies deserve our grace.”

I made a new ice cream sandwich by pressing the memory of a first kiss between two ice creams. You have to eat fast; the umami is ephemeral.

Writers can be a lot of fun at parties, but word to the wise: Keep an eye on your good memories. They’ll strip them down for parts.

Nobody expects the heavens to open up, for the stars in the sky to turn around and make a wish on us.

Freud: “All family life is organized around the most damaged person in it.”

If you’ve ever wondered what the right thing is to say to someone who’s grieving a death, I think this is it: Tell me all about your dear one.