Pre-COVID era: The World of Yesterday
A reimagining of Stefan Zweig’s World of Yesterday Despite the propriety and the modesty of this view of life, there was a grave and dangerous arrogance in this touching confidence…
February, 2021
We need statues of cultural icons and entrepreneurs, not politicians and generals
On the streets where I learned to drive in Concord, a quiet suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, I often broke the speed limit on Warren C. Coleman Boulevard. I never…
The Weissenhof Estate – Architectural vision or political blueprint?
The Weissenhof Estate – an early exemplar of modernist architecture – is striking in its banality. An aimless wanderer in Stuttgart’s gently terraced northern suburbs may be unaware she has…
Stefan Zweig’s Dream of Europe: What has been achieved? Why Stefan Zweig's hopes for humanity remain
On Nov. 27, 1881, in Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the world’s greatest writers was born as a gift to humanity. His name was Stefan Zweig.…
When War Consumes Your Fate Book Review – Wanderjahre: A Reporter’s Journey in a Mad World
There’s nothing more satisfying than the thoughtful ravings of a wily foreign correspondent who returns home. Especially once it can be melted down into a kind of beautiful soliloquy on…
When German Jihad Set the Islamic World Aflame Max von Oppenheim: Oriental enthusiast and the Germans’ secret weapon during the First World War
Some years ago, I made a brief stint in Istanbul, the former capital known as Constantinople in the former Ottoman Empire. Much to the chagrin of my family and loved…
Interwar Weimar: The crucible of architectural and political modernism
In 1919, Germany was a shadow of its former self. Its rise to great power status after a string of intoxicating Prussian-led military victories came to an abrupt halt during…
The Muteness of the Exiled and Cosmopolitan: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Sergei Eisenstein
In an era dubbed by simple-minded journalists as “post-Trump America” or “the age of Brexit,” claiming to be a “global citizen” is synonymous with being cosmopolitan. That, however, is dangerously…
What of Our Grand Experiment?
The fate of Europe seems forever in flux. We need to rethink its foundations. Unbeknownst to millions of ordinary European citizens, they’ve participated in a grand experiment for the past…
I am Galician, not Ukrainian
Every time I travel abroad and hear the question ‘Where are you from?’, I’m embarrassed and give an immediate and quick reply: Ukraine. The unease I experience comes from the…