You can write what you know. But you can also write to figure things out. It’s the difference between chasing butterflies and pinning them to a board. It loses something when you catch them. Josh Ritter in an interview with Tom Ashbrook on NPR’s On Point.

All of this fiscal year’s influences collided in one moment. Like a super-collider of influence.  In the picture: James Smith commenting on songwriter Josh Ritter’s forthcoming book on Josh Ritter’s website. Not to mention Josh Ritter’s book is next to a set of Graham Greene books. If Robert Penn Warren’s books had been on the […]

So Hamlet, Solomon, and Josh Ritter Walk Into a Mousetrap.

Author’s Note: You should own Josh Ritter’s catalog.  Last summer I saw Josh Ritter in Dallas. Around the middle of his set, his band left him alone on stage and he stopped the show completely.  The stage lights were turned off, he unplugged his guitar, stepped away from the microphone and sang “In the Dark” (The […]

When we appreciate art, isn’t it partly for the experience of seeing something difficult done with grace? Isn’t it a perfect metaphor for how we wish life would be? Josh Ritter – I may be quoting Mr. Ritter here out of context, and certainly outside of his intention, but where his intention is well aimed, his […]