Doors and Doorways

My fetish for doors and doorways has not abated. I can't get enough of the variety and intrigue that these architectural beginnings and endings inspire in me. I wonder about all those lives passing through them--what stories have these doors witnessed? In my walk through Boston yesterday, I was once again arrested by this city's private and public entrances, their beautiful designs. Here's a tiny sampling (because my camera's battery ran out).

I love how doors announce things. Are they welcoming or not? What do they say about the building, about the people who live inside? What do they tell us about their neighborhoods?

What's leading up to those doors?

Are they simple? Symmetrical? Honest? Old or new?

 What's their history? In the picture below, can you guess what this rather grand entrance used to lead to? Hint: this building is located outside Copley Square in Boston. I know I was surprised by the answer.

Congratulations to Edith Pearlman, 2011 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) winner for fiction!!  

Steep yourself in this wise, unnerving, compassionate collection of stories. And, kudos to Lookout Books for publishing it. What's so special about Lookout Books? This tiny press in North Carolina is on a mission to "seek out emerging and historically underrepresented voices, as well as works by established writers overlooked by commercial houses." Now go and buy Binocular Vision. It's a beauty.

The exquisite Ms. Pearlman has published more than 250 works of fiction and nonfiction in national mags, literary mags, and anthologies including Best American Short Stories, The Pen/O. Henry Prize Stories, and The Pushcart Prize. She is the author of four story collections, and lives in Brookline, MA, my home town!