I’ve been lucky enough to be one of the translators participating in the Pirandello Society of America’s ambitious project to eventually provide English versions of every one of the 300 or so short stories written by the master. The latest one from me is a translation of Pirandello’s grim account of the aftermath of a barbaric assault on a Catholic mission, “Ignare,” or, “Oblivious.” (“Ignare” literally means the ignorant, unknowing, unaware, naïve, or oblivious ones.) You can…

In my Denton, Texas high school years, not belonging to an actual sports team, I had to endure, along with the other losers, something called “Physical Education,” taught by an instructor who was burdened with the task as a condition of their real job, coaching football. In my sophomore year that instructor was the beloved Coach Collins, for whom a high-school football stadium was later named.

Once upon a time, or rather, several times from 1995 to 2011, Italy had a prime minister named Silvio Berlusconi. He was a preposterous choice as leader for a modern democratic nation. Immensely wealthy, right wing, nationalist, buffoonish, corrupt to the gills. He privately admitted that he had entered politics mainly to stay out of jail. He had already cornered the Italian private media sector, turning it into a personal propaganda machine.

Yesterday afternoon I found out I could be a domestic terrorist. Reader, so could you. My discovery came from watching a clip of Kristi Noem, the person in charge of the safety and security of the United States and its people, describe a woman named Renee Nicole Good as having committed “domestic terrorism.” Noem explains that Good was “trying to kill” a police officer with the vehicle she was driving, as part of a “coordinated” nationwide scheme to “train” terrorists to “run over” anyone who gets in their way as they “try to disrupt peace and public safety.” Noem declares that she will prosecute such acts as terrorism, although in Good’s case it’s hard to see how that will happen, since she’s already been executed.