Images: Edward Hopper
I had heard of Edward Hopper before, but it wasn’t until a summer or two after high school, when I … Continue Reading Images: Edward Hopper
Science & the Salem Witch Trials
From Jacques Barzun: ….What remains to be told is often regarded as the one unfortunate blot on the Pilgrim Fathers’ … Continue Reading Science & the Salem Witch Trials
Images: Gustave Courbet
Take a look through some of the best paintings of Gustave Courbet (1819-1877). Is the general claim true, that in … Continue Reading Images: Gustave Courbet
The Printing Revolution Begins
from Jacques Barzun: Anything that can be said about the good letters implies the book, the printed book. To be … Continue Reading The Printing Revolution Begins
Images: Caspar David Friedrich
Three weeks ago I’d barely heard of the painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). Awhile ago I had noted down that … Continue Reading Images: Caspar David Friedrich
The Reformation in a Nutshell
from Jacques Barzun’s Dawn to Decadence, 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life: In his Judgments on History, … Continue Reading The Reformation in a Nutshell
Thoughts for Shabbat: Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones
Ezekiel, chapter 38: 1The hand of the Lord came upon me. He took me out by the spirit of the … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones
Images: The Earliest Photographs of Paris
Among the earliest photos taken of Paris were those of Eugène Atget, beginning in the late 1800s. Here is only … Continue Reading Images: The Earliest Photographs of Paris
First Person: Heloise Writes to Abelard
An amazing passage from a letter of Heloise to Abelard, those twelfth-century lovers who ended up in a nunnery and … Continue Reading First Person: Heloise Writes to Abelard
The Greatest (Scholarly) Adventure of All Time
The military importance of Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt, during the closing years of the 1790s, pales in comparison to what … Continue Reading The Greatest (Scholarly) Adventure of All Time
Fame is a Vampire
I pass a sign outside of a business every now and then, and staring out at me beneath a bad … Continue Reading Fame is a Vampire
“Rain,” by Ted Hughes
“Rain,” by Ted Hughes Download audio Rain. Floods. Frost. And after frost, rain. Dull roof-drumming. Wraith-rain pulsing across purplebare woods … Continue Reading “Rain,” by Ted Hughes
An Introduction to Orpheus (Greek)
from Jenny March, Cassell’s Dictionary of Classical Mythology, 572-574 ORPHEUS. The supreme singer and musician of Greek myth, so skilled … Continue Reading An Introduction to Orpheus (Greek)
Reading 3 new poems: The Harvest of 1665, The Historian, Mr Cassian’s 54th Dream
Images: Jean-François Millet
The Internet will Get You Too
A post from a few years ago that is worth revisiting: I began this blog in earnest almost six years … Continue Reading The Internet will Get You Too
Edgar Lee Masters’s poem, “Minerva Jones”
Here is quite simply one of the best poems of the twentieth century: it is a diamond thunderbolt straight to … Continue Reading Edgar Lee Masters’s poem, “Minerva Jones”
There is Only the Trying: Some Thoughts on Fame & Failure
1. When Derek Jeter retired from baseball in the fall of 2014, those who followed his last season heard the … Continue Reading There is Only the Trying: Some Thoughts on Fame & Failure
Unfinished Michelangelo (poem)
Unfinished Michelangelo The impossible bodies of apostles, messiahs and slaves, statues that couldn’t have stood had he finished them, faces … Continue Reading Unfinished Michelangelo (poem)
An Introduction to Dylan (Welsh)
DYLAN: [Welsh, ocean, wave]. Welsh aquatic hero or sea demigod, the son of Arianrhod, daughter of Dôn in the fourth … Continue Reading An Introduction to Dylan (Welsh)
First Person: Kiyozawa Manshi Chooses the Buddha
From the Japanese Shin Buddhist Kiyozawa Manshi’s “My Faith,” written five days before his death, in 1903: [My] study finally … Continue Reading First Person: Kiyozawa Manshi Chooses the Buddha
An Introduction to Fintan of Clonenagh (Irish)
FINTAN OF CLONENAGH (d. 603), abbot. Born in Leinster and educated by St. Colum of Terryglass, he founded Clonenagh which … Continue Reading An Introduction to Fintan of Clonenagh (Irish)
Thoughts for Shabbat: When it comes to religion, there is no easy way
Here’s a nice response to the overly-simplistic notion that more liberal denominations are the “easy way out.” Some version of … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: When it comes to religion, there is no easy way
Thoughts for Shabbat: Interpretation is all there is
I love these passages from Bernard Levinson and Gunther Plaut. Both show that interpretation (as opposed to attempting a “literal … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: Interpretation is all there is
Neighborhood (poem)
Originally published in the Concho River Review, fall 2016 Neighborhood In a neighborhood of windows, the sound of lovemaking. In … Continue Reading Neighborhood (poem)
First Person: Virginia Woolf Meets T. S. Eliot
From Virginia Woolf’s Diary on November 21, 1918: I was interrupted somewhere on this page by the arrival of Mr … Continue Reading First Person: Virginia Woolf Meets T. S. Eliot
Not Quite Nostalgia (new essay)
Probably the most personal thing I’ll publish for a very long time, written a few years ago: To save a … Continue Reading Not Quite Nostalgia (new essay)
“Albert Einstein” – New Poem at the Jewish Literary Journal
Many thanks to editor Aaron Berkowitz, who just published my poem about Albert Einstein in The Jewish Literary Journal. Check … Continue Reading “Albert Einstein” – New Poem at the Jewish Literary Journal
An Introduction to Hephaestus (Greek)
from Jenny March, Cassell’s Dictionary of Classical Mythology, 370-373: HEPHAESTUS: Hephaestus, one of the twelve great Olympian gods, was the … Continue Reading An Introduction to Hephaestus (Greek)
Thoughts for Shabbat: A Working Definition of YHWH
After rattling off the usually long list of reasons why the God of the Hebrew Bible is everything from in … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: A Working Definition of YHWH
Thoughts for Shabbat: A Bit from the Baal Shem Tov
A marvelous end to an amazing book, here is Gershom Scholem final words in Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, on the … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: A Bit from the Baal Shem Tov
The Great Myths #68: The Dark Home of Night & Death (Greek)
Read the other Great Myths here Here, in order, are the ends and springs Of gloomy earth and misty Tartarus, … Continue Reading The Great Myths #68: The Dark Home of Night & Death (Greek)
Blind Willie McTell: The Best Voice in Blues
Well, saying that Blind Willie McTell has the best voice in blues–that’s just like my opinion, man. But here are … Continue Reading Blind Willie McTell: The Best Voice in Blues
First Person: Harry Kessler in Florence (1896)
I’ve always had the sneaking suspicion that the Italian Renaissance is, aside from a few names, pretty boring compared to … Continue Reading First Person: Harry Kessler in Florence (1896)
An Introduction to Hathor (Egyptian)
from George Hart’s Dictionary of Egyptian Gods & Goddesses, 2nd ed., 61-65 HATHOR: Universal cow-goddess, symbolic mother of the pharaoh. … Continue Reading An Introduction to Hathor (Egyptian)
An Ancient Pilgrimage to Delphi
….While Tarquin was carrying out these undertakings a frightful portent appeared; a snake gliding out of a wooden column created … Continue Reading An Ancient Pilgrimage to Delphi
Yeats Apocalyptic: “The Second Coming,” “Meru,” “The Gyres”
The Second Coming Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the … Continue Reading Yeats Apocalyptic: “The Second Coming,” “Meru,” “The Gyres”
The Great Myths #67: The Origin of the Buffalo Dance (Blackfoot)
Read the other Great Myths here George Bird Grinnell’s classic account (from 1892) of the origin of the Blackfoot Buffalo … Continue Reading The Great Myths #67: The Origin of the Buffalo Dance (Blackfoot)
The Flaming Head at the Beginning of Ancient Rome
from Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita, Book 1 ch. 39, on the astounding events during the childhood of Servius Tullius: At that … Continue Reading The Flaming Head at the Beginning of Ancient Rome
First Person: All-Night Diner (1940)
An employee at an all-night diner in Vermont, 1940; part of the WPA Federal Writers’ Project: “On a job like … Continue Reading First Person: All-Night Diner (1940)
Isis in Old Age (story)
Originally published at Bold+Italic It was one of those across the room things, even though the women were both old … Continue Reading Isis in Old Age (story)
“Caedmon Comes to Singing” – new poem at Londongrip
Many thanks to Michael Bartholomew-Biggs, for publishing my poem “Caedmon Comes to Singing” in the new issue of Londongrip. Many … Continue Reading “Caedmon Comes to Singing” – new poem at Londongrip
The Great Myths #63: Ragnarok (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here from the Prose Edda: Then spoke Gangleri: ‘What information is there to be given … Continue Reading The Great Myths #63: Ragnarok (Norse)
Seamus Heaney, from “Squarings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Squarings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Squarings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Crossings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Crossings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Crossings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Settings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Settings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Settings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Lightenings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Lightenings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Lightenings”
H. D., “Oread”
H. D., “Oread” Whirl up, sea –whirl your pointed pines,splash your great pineson our rocks,hurl your green over us,cover us … Continue Reading H. D., “Oread”
H. D., “Orchard”
H. D., “Orchard” I saw the first pearas it fell –the honey-seeking, golden-banded,the yellow swarmwas not more fleet than I,(spare … Continue Reading H. D., “Orchard”
The Great Myths #62: Loki is Captured & Punished (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here Then spoke Gangleri: “It was quite an achievement of Loki’s when he brought it … Continue Reading The Great Myths #62: Loki is Captured & Punished (Norse)
Amy Lowell, “Thompson’s Lunch Room—Grand Central Station”
Amy Lowell, “Thompson’s Lunch Room—Grand Central Station” STUDY IN WHITES Wax-white—Floor, ceiling, walls.Ivory shadowsOver the pavementPolished to cream surfacesBy constant … Continue Reading Amy Lowell, “Thompson’s Lunch Room—Grand Central Station”
Amy Lowell, “The Pike”
Amy Lowell, “The Pike” In the brown water,Thick and silver-sheened in the sunshine,Liquid and cool in the shade of the … Continue Reading Amy Lowell, “The Pike”
Happy Black Friday
For those who are out stampeding each other for flat-screen TVs, and for those forced to work so others can … Continue Reading Happy Black Friday
Charles Reznikoff, “Millinery District”
Charles Reznikoff, “Millinery District” The clouds, piled in rows like merchandise, become dark; lights are lit in the lofts; the … Continue Reading Charles Reznikoff, “Millinery District”
The Great Myths #61: Thor Goes Fishing for the World Serpent (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here Thor went out across Midgard having assumed the appearance of a young boy, and … Continue Reading The Great Myths #61: Thor Goes Fishing for the World Serpent (Norse)
Delmore Schwartz, “The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me”
Delmore Schwartz, “The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me” “the withness of the body” The heavy bear who goes with … Continue Reading Delmore Schwartz, “The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me”
Delmore Schwartz, “In the Naked Bed, in Plato’s Cave”
Delmore Schwartz, “In the Naked Bed, in Plato’s Cave” In the naked bed, in Plato’s cave, Reflected headlights slowly slid … Continue Reading Delmore Schwartz, “In the Naked Bed, in Plato’s Cave”
Walt Whitman, “A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim”
Walt Whitman, “A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim” A sight in camp in the daybreak gray … Continue Reading Walt Whitman, “A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim”
The Great Myths #60: The History of Odin’s Horse (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here Then spoke Gangleri: “Whose is the horse Sleipnir? And what is there to tell … Continue Reading The Great Myths #60: The History of Odin’s Horse (Norse)
Seamus Heaney, “The Strand at Lough Beg” (An Elegy from the Troubles)
Seamus Heaney, “The Strand at Lough Beg” In Memory of Colum McCartney All round this little island, on the strand … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, “The Strand at Lough Beg” (An Elegy from the Troubles)
The Great Myths #59: Odin Talks About Valhalla (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here Then spoke Gangleri: “You say that all those men that have fallen in battle … Continue Reading The Great Myths #59: Odin Talks About Valhalla (Norse)
Karl Shapiro, “The Alphabet”
Karl Shapiro, “The Alphabet” The letters of the Jews as strict as flames Or little terrible flowers lean Stubbornly upwards … Continue Reading Karl Shapiro, “The Alphabet”
Karl Shapiro, Two War Poems (“Troop Train,” “Homecoming”)
Troop Train It stops the town we come through. Workers raise Their oily arms in good salute and grin. Kids … Continue Reading Karl Shapiro, Two War Poems (“Troop Train,” “Homecoming”)
The Great Myths #58: The Love Story of Freyr & the Giantess Gerd (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here [High said:]“There was someone called Gymir, and his wife Aurboda. She was of the … Continue Reading The Great Myths #58: The Love Story of Freyr & the Giantess Gerd (Norse)
Thom Gunn, “On the Move”
Thom Gunn, “On the Move” “Man, you gotta Go.” The blue jay scuffling in the bushes follows Some hidden purpose, … Continue Reading Thom Gunn, “On the Move”
Thom Gunn, “No Speech from the Scaffold”
Thom Gunn, “No Speech from the Scaffold” There will be no speech from the scaffold, the scene must be its … Continue Reading Thom Gunn, “No Speech from the Scaffold”
The Great Myths #57: Loki’s Monstrous Children (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here High continued: “And Loki had other offspring too. There was a giantess called Angrboda … Continue Reading The Great Myths #57: Loki’s Monstrous Children (Norse)
Yvor Winters, “Time and the Garden”
Yvor Winters, “Time and the Garden” The spring has darkened with activity. The future gathers in vine, bush, and tree: … Continue Reading Yvor Winters, “Time and the Garden”
Yvor Winters, “The Slow Pacific Swell”
Yvor Winters, “The Slow Pacific Swell” Far out of sight forever stands the sea, Bounding the land with pale tranquillity. … Continue Reading Yvor Winters, “The Slow Pacific Swell”
Laurie Sheck, “Pompeii”
Laurie Sheck, “Pompeii” Covered with lapilli we crouch preserved as we were on that first day The last one of … Continue Reading Laurie Sheck, “Pompeii”
Czeslaw Milosz, “My Faithful Mother Tongue”
Czeslaw Milosz, “My Faithful Mother Tongue” Faithful mother tongue, I have been serving you. Every night, I used to set … Continue Reading Czeslaw Milosz, “My Faithful Mother Tongue”
Eavan Boland, “The Mother Tongue”
Eavan Boland, “The Mother Tongue” The old pale ditch can still be seen less than half a mile from my … Continue Reading Eavan Boland, “The Mother Tongue”
Genevieve Taggard, “To One Loved Wholly Within Wisdom”
Genevieve Taggard, “To One Loved Wholly Within Wisdom” Someone will reap you like a field, Pile your gathered plunder, Garner … Continue Reading Genevieve Taggard, “To One Loved Wholly Within Wisdom”
Genevieve Taggard, “To the Powers of Desolation”
Genevieve Taggard, “To the Powers of Desolation” O mortal boy we cannot stop The leak in that great wall where … Continue Reading Genevieve Taggard, “To the Powers of Desolation”
W. B. Yeats, “A Prayer for My Daughter”
W. B. Yeats, “A Prayer for My Daughter” Once more the storm is howling, and half hid Under this cradle-hood … Continue Reading W. B. Yeats, “A Prayer for My Daughter”
W. B. Yeats, “A Prayer for My Son”
W. B. Yeats, “A Prayer for My Son” Bid a strong ghost stand at the head That my Michael may … Continue Reading W. B. Yeats, “A Prayer for My Son”
e e cummings, Two Love Poems
e e cummings, Two Love Poems “in spite of everything” in spite of everything which breathes and moves,since Doom (with … Continue Reading e e cummings, Two Love Poems
Dostoevsky’s Nightmare
Raskolnikov’s horrible dream, from early on in Crime & Punishment: Raskolnikov had a fearful dream. He dreamt he was back … Continue Reading Dostoevsky’s Nightmare
Marge Piercy, “Girl in white”
Marge Piercy, “Girl in white” Don’t think because her petal thighs leap and her slight breasts flatten against your chest … Continue Reading Marge Piercy, “Girl in white”
“Decay is a tremendous smith”: new poem at Amethyst
Many thanks to Sarah Law, for publishing “Mr Cassian’s 51st Dream” at Amethyst. Back in August, she also published “Mr … Continue Reading “Decay is a tremendous smith”: new poem at Amethyst
Seamus Heaney’s “Beowulf”
From the end of Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, here is an immense mourning for a person and a civilization, … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney’s “Beowulf”
Wordsworth, from “Poems on the Naming of Places”
Wordsworth, from “Poems on the Naming of Places It was an April Morning: fresh and clear The Rivulet, delighting in … Continue Reading Wordsworth, from “Poems on the Naming of Places”
Bone Antler Stone by Tim Miller: Book Review
Originally posted on Kathryn (Kate) MacDonald :
Tim Miller collapses 30,000 years of archaeology into a poetry collection that feels the thrill of…
Archibald MacLeish, “Voyage West”
Archibald MacLeish, “Voyage West” There was a time for discoveries — For the headlands looming above in the First light … Continue Reading Archibald MacLeish, “Voyage West”
Marsden Hartley, “Fishmonger”
Marsden Hartley, “Fishmonger” I have taken scales from off The cheeks of the moon. I have made fins from bluejays’ … Continue Reading Marsden Hartley, “Fishmonger”
Ted Hughes – “Crow’s Song about God”
Ted Hughes – “Crow’s Song about God” Somebody is sittingUnder the gatepost of heavenUnder the lintelOn which are written the … Continue Reading Ted Hughes – “Crow’s Song about God”
Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Spring”
Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Spring” To what purpose, April, do you return again? Beauty is not enough. You can no … Continue Reading Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Spring”
Conrad Aiken, “Preludes for Memnon”
Conrad Aiken, from “Preludes to Memnon” I Winter for a moment takes the mind; the snow Falls past the arclight; … Continue Reading Conrad Aiken, “Preludes for Memnon”
H. D., “Sea Iris,” “Sea Violet”
Sea Iris I Weed, moss-weed, root tangled in sand, sea-iris, brittle flower, one petal like a shell is broken, and … Continue Reading H. D., “Sea Iris,” “Sea Violet”
20th Century Poetry #20: Edgar Lee Masters
Edgar Lee Masters (1868-1950) One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #20: Edgar Lee Masters
Ezra Pound, “Portrait d’une Femme”
Ezra Pound, “Portrait d’une Femme” Your mind and you are our Sargasso Sea, London has swept about you this score … Continue Reading Ezra Pound, “Portrait d’une Femme”
W. B. Yeats, “Meru”
W. B. Yeats, “Meru” Civilisation is hooped together, broughtUnder a rule, under the semblance of peaceBy manifold illusion; but man’s … Continue Reading W. B. Yeats, “Meru”
Carl Sandburg, “Chicago”
Carl Sandburg, “Chicago” Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight … Continue Reading Carl Sandburg, “Chicago”
20th Century Poetry #19: Louis MacNeice
Louis MacNeice (1907-1963) One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #19: Louis MacNeice
Amy Lowell, “Lilacs”
Amy Lowell, “Lilacs” Lilacs, False blue, White, Purple, Color of lilac, Your great puffs of flowers Are everywhere in this … Continue Reading Amy Lowell, “Lilacs”
Edith Wharton, “Terminus”
Edith Wharton, “Terminus” Wonderful was the long secret night you gave me, my Lover, Palm to palm, breast to breast … Continue Reading Edith Wharton, “Terminus”
Translating Kafka’s Life: An Interview with Shelley Frisch
I have posted about my love for Franz Kafka’s work many times in these pages. Today I’m lucky enough to … Continue Reading Translating Kafka’s Life: An Interview with Shelley Frisch
Picasso’s Blue Sympathies
Picasso’s Blue Period–or basically anything he did before Cubism–has always struck me as more powerful than anything he did later, … Continue Reading Picasso’s Blue Sympathies
Dante, Through the Fire
Here’s one of the great moments in poetry: Canto 27 of Dante’s Purgatorio, where Dante passes through the fire, and … Continue Reading Dante, Through the Fire
The Unfinished Kafka
Reiner Stach, in the middle entry of his three volume biography of Franz Kafka, writes, “Anyone who studies bibliographies today … Continue Reading The Unfinished Kafka
William H. McNeill – History as Myth
A few years ago, the great historian William H. McNeill died. I still have surprisingly endearing memories of reading his … Continue Reading William H. McNeill – History as Myth
Adrienne Rich: 4 Love Poems
from 21 Love Poems: 1 Whenever in this city, screens flicker with pornography, with science-fiction vampires, victimized hirelings bending to … Continue Reading Adrienne Rich: 4 Love Poems
20th Century Poetry #17: R. S. Thomas
R. S. Thomas (1913-2000) One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #17: R. S. Thomas
Laurie Sheck’s poem “The Stockroom”
Back in the late nineties when a place called Borders Outlet still existed and Amazon was only a few years … Continue Reading Laurie Sheck’s poem “The Stockroom”
Blindness, War & History
(this essay was originally published in the Fall, 2014 issue of the Concho River Review. Since it is no longer … Continue Reading Blindness, War & History
Heaney Comes to Poetry
Here are some of Seamus Heaney’s memories of reading, writing, and poetry, from earliest schooldays to university, all taken from … Continue Reading Heaney Comes to Poetry
3 Poems of Adolescent Love & Hazing by Robert Lowell
Bobby Delano The labor to breathe that younger, rawer air: St. Mark’s last football game with Groton lost on the … Continue Reading 3 Poems of Adolescent Love & Hazing by Robert Lowell
John Donne: Holy Sonnets & Good Friday
“Death, be not proud” Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not … Continue Reading John Donne: Holy Sonnets & Good Friday
20th Century Poetry #16: Vernon Watkins
VERNON WATKINS (1906-1967) One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #16: Vernon Watkins
Week of the Bomb: Friday
What to make of any of these voices? This week’s posts—the words not of those protesting the bomb after, but … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Friday
Week of the Bomb: Thursday
Finally, voices from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When The New Yorker dedicated its entire August 31, 1946 issue to John Hersey’s … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Thursday
Week of the Bomb: Wednesday
Many of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project had families in Europe, or were refugees from Europe themselves, … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Wednesday
Week of the Bomb: Tuesday
Impossible decisions remain impossible, even after they’ve been made. Following on yesterday’s post, here are the voices of those scientists … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Tuesday
Week of the Bomb: Monday
With the anniversary of the Trinity Test just passed, and the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this week, I realize the … Continue Reading Week of the Bomb: Monday
Heaney on Writing
Here’s Seamus Heaney talking about writing, from Dennis O’Driscoll’s book-length interview with him, Stepping Stones: On Inspiration On the week … Continue Reading Heaney on Writing
the robin ring around the sun: New Poem at Amethyst Review
Many thanks to Sarah Law at Amethyst Review, who just published my poem “Mr Cassian’s 54th Dream.” You can read … Continue Reading the robin ring around the sun: New Poem at Amethyst Review
Walt Whitman’s Letter to Parents Whose Son Died in the Civil War
Washington August 10 1863 Mr and Mrs Haskell, Dear friends, I thought it would be soothing to you to have … Continue Reading Walt Whitman’s Letter to Parents Whose Son Died in the Civil War
The Past is Not Dead: There is Only Continuity
from Peter Ackroyd, at the end of his first volume of the history of England: Other forms of continuity are … Continue Reading The Past is Not Dead: There is Only Continuity
The Popular Press in 1918 was Garbage Too
From Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West, published just over a century ago. Our bad relationship with information and disinformation … Continue Reading The Popular Press in 1918 was Garbage Too
The Endless Variety of Hinduism
Gandhi himself said that, “If I know Hinduism at all, it is essentially inclusive and ever-growing, ever-responsive. It gives the … Continue Reading The Endless Variety of Hinduism
20th Century Poetry #14: Stevie Smith
How Alice Munro Chose to Write Short Stories
from the introduction to her Selected Stories: I did not “choose” to write short stories. I hoped to write … Continue Reading How Alice Munro Chose to Write Short Stories
The Best of Albert Camus’s Notebooks
A random scattering, some barely aphorisms, from the first two volumes of the notebooks of Albert Camus. They are gold: … Continue Reading The Best of Albert Camus’s Notebooks
History is An Accident
from Peter Ackroyd, at the end of his first volume on the history of England: When we look over the … Continue Reading History is An Accident
Will the Real Psalm 23 Please Stand Up?
Probably the most lucid example of how religions both change drastically, and yet remain meaningful, is right here in James … Continue Reading Will the Real Psalm 23 Please Stand Up?
20th Century Poetry #13: Basil Bunting
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every Saturday … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #13: Basil Bunting
What To Expect When You’re in Love with a Writer
When in 1937 the mythologist Joseph Campbell began dating his future wife, the dancer Jean Erdman, he gave her a … Continue Reading What To Expect When You’re in Love with a Writer
A Housewife in the 1960s
One of the saddest interviews from Studs Terkel’s Working (talk about Human Pages!) comes from a Chicago housewife named Therese … Continue Reading A Housewife in the 1960s
There is Only the Trying: Some Thoughts on Fame & Failure
A reader favorite from 2016, that I like to repost now & then: 1. When Derek Jeter retired from baseball … Continue Reading There is Only the Trying: Some Thoughts on Fame & Failure
Manet the Mystic
Manet’s 1862 painting The Old Musician is a great human riddle. Just what everybody is doing here, and why they’re … Continue Reading Manet the Mystic
Caravaggio’s Dirty Feet
The affront that many of Caravaggio’s greatest paintings presented to their first audience must have been astonishing: casting a local … Continue Reading Caravaggio’s Dirty Feet
Death in Ancient Egypt
Here, Erik Hornung refutes the old cliché that ancient Egyptian religion was “death obsessed,” or that constructions like the pyramids … Continue Reading Death in Ancient Egypt
20th Century Poetry #12: D. H. Lawrence
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every Saturday … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #12: D. H. Lawrence
Angela Merici & the Education of Women & Girls in the early 1500s
from Thomas Cahill: They were a group of well-born Lombardian ladies, led by Angela Merici, who came together to educate … Continue Reading Angela Merici & the Education of Women & Girls in the early 1500s
Images: Dürer’s Self-Portraits
From childhood through old age: Albrecht Dürer, “Self-Portrait” (1484) Albrecht Dürer, “Self-Portrait” (1493) Albrecht Dürer, “Self-Portrait” (1498) Albrecht Dürer, “Self-Portrait” … Continue Reading Images: Dürer’s Self-Portraits
5 Elegies by Seamus Heaney
from “Clearances” When all the others were away at Mass I was all hers as we peeled potatoes. They broke … Continue Reading 5 Elegies by Seamus Heaney
Picasso & Sex
from John Richardson’s biography of Picasso: When questioned much later about his earliest sexual experience, Picasso claimed that his sex … Continue Reading Picasso & Sex
New story at Cutthroat: “The Frog”
Many thanks to the editors at Cutthroat (Pamela Uschuk, and fiction editor Bill Luvaas) for publishing my story “The Frog” … Continue Reading New story at Cutthroat: “The Frog”
The Religion of Ancient Egypt
A handful of passages from one of the best books on religion I’ve ever read, Erik Hornung’s Conceptions of God … Continue Reading The Religion of Ancient Egypt
20th Century Poetry #11: Rudyard Kipling
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every Saturday … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #11: Rudyard Kipling
A Gallery of Greeks & Romans
Here are a few dozen faces I always go back to, from the collection of Greek & Roman sculpture I … Continue Reading A Gallery of Greeks & Romans
Heat & Light at Lascaux
The environment in which some of humanity’s first–and still best–works of art, in the cave of Lascaux nearly thirty … Continue Reading Heat & Light at Lascaux
Walking on Two Feet: The Evolution of Bipedalism
from Steven Mithen’s The Prehistory of the Mind: The evolution of bipedalism had begun by 3.5 million years ago. Evidence … Continue Reading Walking on Two Feet: The Evolution of Bipedalism
Memento Mori
The German Origins of Michelangelo’s Pietà
from Thomas Cahill’s Heretics & Heroes: …. [Michelangelo’s] next work displays a grasp of human anatomy seldom seen in the … Continue Reading The German Origins of Michelangelo’s Pietà
Jews & Muslims on Pilgrimage Together in the 1300s
From Mark Cohen’s Under Crescent & Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages: An aspect of Jewish-gentile sociability under Islam … Continue Reading Jews & Muslims on Pilgrimage Together in the 1300s
20th Century Poetry #10: Walter de la Mare
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every Saturday … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #10: Walter de la Mare
What the Earliest Forms of Literacy Looked Like
from David Carr’s book on literacy and the creation of literature in the ancient world: … many ancient texts were … Continue Reading What the Earliest Forms of Literacy Looked Like
Vermeer’s Window on the Left, Vermeer’s Late Afternoon Light
As I’ve written elsewhere: “Except for his earliest work, there were no grand subjects in Vermeer, and very little else … Continue Reading Vermeer’s Window on the Left, Vermeer’s Late Afternoon Light
The Mind as a Mountain & Creativity its Tree
A drawing from 2015 that I suddenly found again today:
