From escapism to learning: How the arts got me through 2020

I know I’m not the only one who’s grateful that 2020 has ended!

After an incredibly busy year launching a new book and starting this column, I paused during the holiday season, took a couple of digital detox days (deliberately not turning on the computer), and began to try to put the past year into context. How could I hold two (or maybe three or more) conflicting thoughts in my head at the same time? 2020 was marked by so much death and misery and disruption, some of which might have been avoided with

The “pure joy of learning”Beauty, sorrow, and progress