Mike Fink

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A survivor’s story of the world she left behind

Marguerite Dorian Taussig came to our town, taught a class in botany, composed and contributed a fine and witty essay about how the names of perfumes change to reflect the mood of the times, and … more

Mike Fink | 4/15/16

Three very cool documentaries

It’s midsummer and the dog days are upon us. A nice air-conditioned cinema showing an excellent documentary can make that heat much more bearable. “Won’t You Be My … more

Mike Fink | 8/9/18

A boy’s battle for life

We met at a coffee shop. I was looking for him, and he for me. I took note of a slim cane on the floor beside his table. “Fink?” he inquired. We had arranged our rendezvous because his dentist told him that I was a person who would listen … more

Mike Fink | 8/18/14

Celebrating creative spirits – here and in Israel

My story begins with my student Max Levi Frieder, who came from Colorado to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). more

Mike Fink | 8/16/13

Mom’s creativity didn’t condone tobacco

I like to fight back against the health-food and exercise addicts. “My father,” I claim, “prescribed salt – a pile, a pillar, of it against infection, a cigarette as a cure for a cold, and a shot of Four Roses as a pick-me-up … more

Mike Fink | 2/19/16

Almost happy in the adopted homeland

I met Alexandra Broches at a marina cafe in South Kingstown. She has served as director of the Hera Gallery in Wakefield, where she has also shown her prints, photographs and paintings. She has taught at both the University of Rhode … more

Mike Fink | 2/26/15

The wrong cup

I met my aunt Stella for the first time when I was a bar mitzvah boy, I mean a young teen-ager. Why? She came down to our cobblestones from Montreal, now that the war was over and travel bans were lifted. You could take a train or drive on your … more

Mike Fink | 11/7/13

Resist easy answers

I’m supposed to require “research” projects from the students in my first-semester journalism elective at Rhode Island School of Design. My first question to the students is, … more

Mike Fink | 10/16/17

Classic movies portrayed the Arab world in a benign light

As a teacher of film history, I show “classic” movies of yore and compare them to recent fare, adding commentary about their contexts. Here is such a comparison between then and now on-screen. Sabu, the Indian stable boy who was the … more

Mike Fink | 10/29/15

Teatime with Judy

It was such a long time ago on the Benefit Street trail. It was Judy Beckman, with her skills and interests in genealogical trees, who found the addresses of my grandfather and great uncle and their wives. “The ghosts, the phantoms, of the lives … more

Mike Fink | 2/13/14