Last night, creative writers attended a concert/reading at Old First Church: The music of Dmitri Shostakovitch interspersed with readings of poetry by his compatriots Anna Akhmatova and Joseph Brodsky. The performance was unusual and spectacular; hearing both the musical language and the literature of one culture in one evening was awe-inspiring. As Brodsky said, “Music is actually the best teacher of composition, I think, even of literature.” Thanks to Kathy Barr, director of Old First Concerts, who gave us comped tickets!

-Abigail Schott-Rosenfield