Archive

’Tis the year’s midnight, and it is the day’s,Lucy’s, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks.— John Donne, “A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy’s Day,Being the Shortest Day” Afternoons end early,...

Jacob and Esau struggled in the womb right from the start. Rebekah’s ultrasound, quite early on, revealed the embryos: yin and yang, two fat big-headed commas grappled together head...

When Solomon was born, birds came soaring, waddling, swimming, flapping around the air.They cheeped and honked to celebrate the day; a few chipped in to give him a layette—eiderdown,...

The Spartan boy who steals a fox endures with fortitude the roiling mound scratching at his proud breast under his tunic, claws hooked in his skin: he keeps its...

Magdala on the Via Maris hosted the caravans; Egyptian traffic”glass in ingots, ivory, lapis, apricots, papyrus, ostrich-feather fans; the Magdalenes laid out their fish for salting near the inns;...

Imagine the way those horses came plunging and foaming like a race undammed, and how the hot hooves crashing scoured down the hills of Thrace. Fed by an unheard“of...

It’s not , though: Anyone can tell you this is absolutely not an artichoke. And the Jerusalem that it professes? Some Italian costermonger spoke about the sunflower”the English heard...