"Man on Wire" and a Related Essay of Mine

Please do NOT get me started on the new movie that, by all accounts, should not even be titled “Brideshead Revisited,” given how much it has diverged from the novel it’s supposedly based on (a well-worn copy of which rests in my bedroom) and from the British miniseries (a well-viewed VHS set of which rests in my media cabinet) that provided the definitive adaptation. Let’s just say that I refuse to see this movie.

On the other hand, I am very much looking forward to finding the time to see “Man on Wire,” the new documentary chronicling a moment in history from 1974: Philippe Petit’s dance on a wire illegally rigged between the Twin Towers.

Which reminds me that I haven’t yet provided the link to my essay: “The Twin Towers: A Personal History in Four Parts.”

(photo credit: ©2008 Jean-Louis Blondeau/Polaris Images)

6 thoughts on “"Man on Wire" and a Related Essay of Mine

  1. deonne kahler says:

    Thanks for sharing your essay. My connection to the towers began the day they fell, so it was interesting to read of your connections that started so much earlier. I especially appreciated how understated your writing was, despite so much sadness in the content (deaths of loved ones, 9/11).

  2. John says:

    Nice, Erika. I asked my wife to marry me on the Staten Island ferry, with the towers lighted behind me.

  3. Lisa R. says:

    So nicely done, Erika. Can’t believe I missed this; I’m a big fan of Quay.
    I remember years ago, planning to meet a cousin for lunch once at the WTC where he worked and sitting in a taxi at a light outside, when the news came over the radio that the shuttle exploded (the first one).

  4. Erika D. says:

    Thanks so much, all (and particular thanks to Lisa, to whom I owe the discovery of QUAY in the first place).

  5. Zoe Westhof says:

    What a well-written and simple essay. It’s really refreshing to see an account that is in line with the fragmented reactions many people had, instead of the dramatic imagery that has become standard.

    I watched the towers fall from Hoboken, NJ, and these paragraphs really echo the dazed feelings I went through that day as I tried to track down my family in NY (all safe and sound).

    Also, thanks for introducing a new lit journal!

  6. Erika D. says:

    Thanks so much, Zoë, and I’m happy to have discovered your site/blog. (I love your writing goals!)

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