“Scrittore?” said the brown-haired girl at the desk of the pensione in Naples, with a trill of joy in her voice.

Dying for a mirage: ­ Yesterday I saw Ellen McLaughlin’s play “Helen,” based on Euripides’ play of the same name…  Just like in real life, the bloodiest wars are fought for things that exist only in men’s minds: “eternal Israel,” “free Palestine,” “jihad,” “Tamil homeland,” “Aryan supremacy,” “the American way of life,” etc. Pretty perceptive, that Euripides. I hope he writes some more. 2002.03.24