Author: Dan Rodricks

I have a long fascination with World War I only because I find it so hideously absurd, one of human history’s foolish and costly eruptions of large-scale violence. It started in 1914 and ended on this date — at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — in 1918. More than … Continue reading War then, war now: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”

I took part in a panel discussion Friday about current events, and the subjects included the ugly rise of antisemitism around the country and particularly on college campuses. After addressing the current rise within the context of the Israel-Hamas War, one of the panelists noted the surge in hate crimes and white nationalism since Trump … Continue reading Yeah, sorry, Trump fans. Your man owns a big piece of the surge in hate crimes. No other modern president comes close.

Maryland was first declared a “Free State” after the legislature abolished slavery in the 19th Century. In the early 20th Century, it was a Baltimore Sun guy, Evening Sun editor Hamilton Owens, who popularized Maryland  as "The Free State" after Congress passed a law prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Marylanders opposed and … Continue reading A spirited celebration of Maryland history

We chose the Meyerhoff Auditorium -- it really deserves to be called a theater -- for my plays because the stage and house are the right size, the seating is comfortable for patrons, the tech support superb, the piano excellent and because the venue is inside the fabulous Baltimore Museum of Art. Here's a suggestion … Continue reading Visit Baltimore’s great art museum, see my plays

My hometown, East Bridgewater, Mass., celebrates the bicentennial of its incorporation this year, though the old Plymouth County settlement is much older than that. I was asked to write a remembrance of growing up there for a bicentennial book. I was given permission to post it here. The East Bridgewater I knew — population about … Continue reading East Bridgewater, the hometown eternal

When I was new to column writing, a woman contacted me to discuss a legal battle that pretty much consumed her life — the matter of child custody resulting from a bitter divorce. Her ex-husband lived in Florida and wanted full custody of her two children while the woman, of course, had hired a Maryland … Continue reading Child custody: Among the most volatile of court cases

Henry Cawley, the central character of a scene in my play, “Baltimore, You Have No Idea,” is based on a real-life drug dealer named Harry Calloway, a man I first met 18 years ago when I wrote a series of columns in The Sun about the obstacles ex-offenders faced when they tried to find jobs … Continue reading Rewriting the play to reflect real-life: The Harry Calloway Story

I have developed a reaction to news of war — in Ukraine, now in Gaza — or news of violence anywhere, hate crimes, bigotry and ridiculous political developments such as the one playing out among Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. My reaction, before engaging in the usual analysis to which a newspaper columnist … Continue reading Wasting valuable time as the Big Clock ticks against the life of our planet

My Sunday column in the Baltimore Sun, reported from a recent trip to Paris, is about Sam Schwarz, a young man from Baltimore and Towson who is living a dream to be a chef in a creative kitchen in the French capital. The column describes his odyssey -- dropping out of a "grownup job" with … Continue reading Chef Sam Schwarz on friends, the French and food. Plus, three of his original dishes described.

Todd Douglas of BoldYellow designed a new bumpersticker based on the title of my first play. We will be ordering a bunch in time for the December run at the Baltimore Museum of Art and offering them in return for a $5 donation to a charity to be named later. We might make other arrangements … Continue reading See the play, get the bumpersticker