Reading On The Brain
Michael Kinsley is great.
I usually (but not always) agree with him politically. He's so smart about pointing out the hypocrisies of others that he sometimes comes off as arrogant or too-clever-by-half. Nevertheless, the guy's writing sings. His stuff was made for the op-ed format, too. Eight hundred words to make your point and get out, and he rarely comes up short.
Kinsley also has Parkinson's Disease. He's had it for years now, but only announced it in 2001 or so. It hasn't impacted his work--he still writes his syndicated column regularly, plus sideline stuff for Time and Slate (the e-magazine he founded and edited for years). He even took on the Editoral Page Editor job at the LA Times for a while, shuttling between Seattle and LA before the commute and the local media mob got to him.
It's not that Kinsley's work didn't change as a result of his disease. (One of the pleasures of his column has become seeing him regularly dissect the zealots opposed to stem cell research. Not surprisingly, it's a pet issue of his.) It's just that it hasn't totally been consumed by it.
Well, he just had brain surgery this week. Three days before, he wrote a column for Time about it. You should read it.
When I did, I couldn't help but think of my favorite columnist--and one of my favorite writers, period--Jimmy Breslin. About ten years ago, Breslin was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his brain. He lived through it, of course, and the book he produced from the experience is a terrific read.
So there you go. Two terrific reads from two terrific writers who have had their heads cut open. If that isn't perfect beach reading, I don't know what is.
I usually (but not always) agree with him politically. He's so smart about pointing out the hypocrisies of others that he sometimes comes off as arrogant or too-clever-by-half. Nevertheless, the guy's writing sings. His stuff was made for the op-ed format, too. Eight hundred words to make your point and get out, and he rarely comes up short.
Kinsley also has Parkinson's Disease. He's had it for years now, but only announced it in 2001 or so. It hasn't impacted his work--he still writes his syndicated column regularly, plus sideline stuff for Time and Slate (the e-magazine he founded and edited for years). He even took on the Editoral Page Editor job at the LA Times for a while, shuttling between Seattle and LA before the commute and the local media mob got to him.
It's not that Kinsley's work didn't change as a result of his disease. (One of the pleasures of his column has become seeing him regularly dissect the zealots opposed to stem cell research. Not surprisingly, it's a pet issue of his.) It's just that it hasn't totally been consumed by it.
Well, he just had brain surgery this week. Three days before, he wrote a column for Time about it. You should read it.
When I did, I couldn't help but think of my favorite columnist--and one of my favorite writers, period--Jimmy Breslin. About ten years ago, Breslin was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his brain. He lived through it, of course, and the book he produced from the experience is a terrific read.
So there you go. Two terrific reads from two terrific writers who have had their heads cut open. If that isn't perfect beach reading, I don't know what is.
posted by Matthew at 10:43 AM
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