Nerd in a Fishbowl

Nerd in a Fishbowl

In this quietly funny and poignant short story by Peter Scotchmer, a fledgling teacher learns that the classroom isn’t just a place of learning but a spotlight, a stage, and sometimes, a fishbowl.   The bell rang, and the class quickly settled. The teacher...
Two Tales from India

Two Tales from India

Peter Scotchmer dives into two great reads- Saroo Brierley’s contemporary true story ‘Lion’ and Rudyard Kipling’s classic novel ‘Kim’ during his own travels through the Indian subcontinent. While in India on family business, I...
Le Mot Juste : Words Matter

Le Mot Juste : Words Matter

The story is told by his son Dylan of a memorable exchange between Dylan’s father, the Canadian writer William Bell, famous for his novel Forbidden City, and Dylan’s sister Megan. Megan had been reprimanded for some unspecified childish misdemeanour or other, and had...
A Culture of Reticence

A Culture of Reticence

The past is another country. They do things differently there. – L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between   (A mosaic from Hadrumetum, in Tunisia, an important pre-Carthage Phoenician city, which depicts Aeneas surrounded by Clio, (history), and Melpomene (tragedy). This...