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Bob Varettoni
Bob Varettoni

1.3K Followers

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Nov 18, 2022

The Last Waltz: Goodbye, Catholic New York

Catholic New York newspaper published its last edition this week. I had met my wife, Nancy, working there in the 1980s. Its editor, my friend John Woods, published this informative article about the publication’s history: https://www.cny.org/stories/goodbye-cny,24614 In it, he mentions two editors I worked for at the start of my…

Journalism

3 min read

The Last Waltz: Goodbye, Catholic New York
The Last Waltz: Goodbye, Catholic New York
Journalism

3 min read


Nov 7, 2022

Three Recent Poems

Recent original poetry, all about family memories, first posted on my blog — Bob Varettoni, 11/7/22. Elegy in a Living Room I lie alone in my boyhood home, on a faux-leather sofa, a curiosity from the 1970s my mother won’t surrender. The suburbs are Sunday-silent. I shut my eyes and begin to float… Up a…

Poetry

2 min read

Three Recent Poems
Three Recent Poems
Poetry

2 min read


Sep 10, 2022

Visiting the Warhol Museum: Ambivalence and Awe in Pittsburgh

Nancy and I took a road trip to Pittsburgh, ostensibly to see the baseball Pirates host the New York Mets. On our way to an afternoon game, we crossed paths with the Andy Warhol Museum. I was excited to see the works of this New York City legend, not realizing…

Art

4 min read

Visiting the Warhol Museum: Ambivalence and Awe in Pittsburgh
Visiting the Warhol Museum: Ambivalence and Awe in Pittsburgh
Art

4 min read


Aug 26, 2022

Braided Essay*: ‘Thunder Road’ in 6 Scenes

Are You Scared? Are You Thinking That Maybe You Aren’t That Young Anymore? Scene 1: The disambiguation page on Wikipedia lists 21 possible references to “Thunder Road.” But as anyone knows who grew up in New Jersey in the decade of the ’70s, there’s really only one. It’s the song recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1975. A song without a chorus. Scene 2…

Springsteen

4 min read

Braided Essay*: ‘Thunder Road’ in 6 Scenes
Braided Essay*: ‘Thunder Road’ in 6 Scenes
Springsteen

4 min read


Jul 26, 2022

Hamlet in Suburbia: Why I Love Photography

Here’s another shameless self-promotional photo of me (far left, which is as political a statement I’ll make in this post), holding a copy of the new “New Jersey Fan Club” anthology with some co-contributors. We had gathered this past Saturday at The Corner (top right), a great little shop/studio in…

Photography

3 min read

Hamlet in Suburbia: Why I Love Photography
Hamlet in Suburbia: Why I Love Photography
Photography

3 min read


Jun 3, 2022

Happy Birthday, Allen Ginsberg

Today would have been the 96th birthday of the poet who saw the best minds of his generation destroyed by madness. I have a great affinity for Allen Ginsberg. …

Poetry Writing

4 min read

Happy Birthday, Allen Ginsberg
Happy Birthday, Allen Ginsberg
Poetry Writing

4 min read


Jan 9, 2022

Why I (Sometimes) Love Social Media

I can be a hero… just for one day. Have you ever had a social media post go viral? I experienced that on a small scale earlier today, with this Twitter post of a throwback photo of the epic Jersey City mural by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra:

Social Media

2 min read

Why I (Sometimes) Love Social Media
Why I (Sometimes) Love Social Media
Social Media

2 min read


Jan 3, 2022

12 Days of Christmas in New Jersey

Looking back on 2021 with appreciation for my home, and the people and things that surround me December 2021-January 2022 In pre-COVID times, on Epiphany Sunday, I’d take Mom to Mass at St. Bonaventure’s Church in Paterson, NJ, to listen to the Chopin Male Choir of Passaic sing Polish Christmas carols. I once wrote that these trips were a reminder of New Jersey’s quirky, and powerful, diversity…

New Jersey

14 min read

12 Days of Christmas 2021
12 Days of Christmas 2021
New Jersey

14 min read


Oct 2, 2021

Thirteen Ways of Looking at New York (Happy Birthday, Wallace Stevens)

If social media has taught me one thing about life, it’s to reaffirm how ordinary I am. Which is why one of my favorite writers is Wallace Stevens, an ordinary life insurance executive who wrote some of the world’s most extraordinary poems. It’s his 142nd birthday today. I love the…

Poetry

4 min read

Thirteen Ways of Looking at New York
Thirteen Ways of Looking at New York
Poetry

4 min read


Sep 10, 2021

20 Years Later, 9/11 Remembered

This year I’ve again updated a Pinterest site of photos and stories recalling my former Verizon colleagues and their heroic response to 9/11. You can reach it at https://www.pinterest.com/bvar/verizons-response-to-911/ . Newly added is a booklet from 2005 about the history and recovery of 140 West Street, the old headquarters building…

9 11 Attacks

2 min read

20 Years Later, 9/11 Remembered
20 Years Later, 9/11 Remembered
9 11 Attacks

2 min read

Bob Varettoni

Bob Varettoni

1.3K Followers

Posting here about writing, books, tech, family, baseball. More about me at bvarcommunications.com

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