Meghan O'Rourke

'Hamlet' is a play about a man whose grief is deemed unseemly.

The truth is, I need to experience my mother's presence in the world around me and not just in my head.

But when my mother died, I found that I did not believe that she was gone.

It's good to like yourself, and that only comes from hard work, from doing. But vanity is dangerous; it can trip you badly.

Why do we cling to bigotry? Because bigotry, plainly, is convenient. It is a near-effortless way to both elevate one's stature and make a pity grab in this culture of victims that we have become.

I would've done anything to work with Satyajit Ray.