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
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)
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”
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”
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”
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”
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)
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”
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”
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”
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
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”
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”
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”
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
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”
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
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”
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Mind as a Mountain & Creativity its Tree
A drawing from 2015 that I suddenly found again today:
Martin Luther Reinvents the German Language
When, in 1522, Martin Luther agreed to a staged kidnapping that would keep him safe from Catholic and other authorities, … Continue Reading Martin Luther Reinvents the German Language
20th Century Poetry #9: Susan Miles
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 #9: Susan Miles
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 The Earliest Photographs of Paris
Claude Lorrain’s Nostalgia for What Never Was
I first came across Claude Lorrain’s fantasies of classical Greece and Rome on the cover of an old paperback of … Continue Reading Claude Lorrain’s Nostalgia for What Never Was
The Painting that Lit a Million Conspiracy Theories
It’s too bad Nicholas Poussin’s Shepherds of Arcady/Et in Arcadia (Even in Arcadia, there am I) can’t get much attention … Continue Reading The Painting that Lit a Million Conspiracy Theories
Aldous Huxley Saves the Day
from Thomas Cahill’s Heretics and Heroes: In a collection of travel essays published in 1925, Aldous Huxley had called Piero … Continue Reading Aldous Huxley Saves the Day
20th Century Poetry #8: Wilfred Owen & the Poetry of World War One
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 #8: Wilfred Owen & the Poetry of World War One
Week of Van Gogh: Town & City
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Week of Van Gogh: Still Life
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Week of Van Gogh: Landscapes
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Week of Van Gogh: Portraits
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Week of Van Gogh: Self-Portraits
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20th Century Poetry #7: W. B. Yeats
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 #7: W. B. Yeats
Images: The Saint & the Lion
One of the great jazz standards of Medieval & Renaissance art, here’s only a selection of all the depictions of … Continue Reading Images: The Saint & the Lion
Images: The Painting Salvador Dali Couldn’t Get Away From
The way I heard it, Salvador Dali saw a reproduction of Millet’s Angelus in his classroom during childhood, and it … Continue Reading Images: The Painting Salvador Dali Couldn’t Get Away From
Who are These Faces & What are Their Stories?
At an antique store a few years ago, I spent $10 on an envelope of old photos. I love to … Continue Reading Who are These Faces & What are Their Stories?
The Great Myths #56: The Early History of Yggdrasil (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here Then spoke Gangleri: “Where is the chief center or holy place of the gods?” … Continue Reading The Great Myths #56: The Early History of Yggdrasil (Norse)
20th Century Poetry #6: John Squire & the Poetry of Protest
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 #6: John Squire & the Poetry of Protest
Images: Manet’s Muse, Victorine Meurent
The French painter and model Victorine Meurent (1844-1927) appears in some of the most famous of Édouard Manet’s paintings. Click … Continue Reading Images: Manet’s Muse, Victorine Meurent
Images: Rembrandt’s Self-Portraits
The number of Rembrandt’s self-portraits alone far outnumber the entire output of many artists. Here is only a fraction of … Continue Reading Images: Rembrandt’s Self-Portraits
The Great Myths #55: An Island is Cut Away & the Prose Edda Begins (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here The Prose Edda, one of the greatest sources for Norse mythology, begins with … Continue Reading The Great Myths #55: An Island is Cut Away & the Prose Edda Begins (Norse)
20th Century Poetry #5: Edward Thomas
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 #5: Edward Thomas
Images: Watch Picasso’s “Guernica” Emerge
Scroll through this selection of preliminary studies & photos of the canvas as it was worked on & completed. Pretty … Continue Reading Images: Watch Picasso’s “Guernica” Emerge
The Great Myths #54: A Native American Orpheus (Tachi Yokut)
Read the other Great Myths here As the compiler of this myth notes: “The Orpheus myth is also popular among … Continue Reading The Great Myths #54: A Native American Orpheus (Tachi Yokut)
Marc Chagall Struck by Lightning
The artist Marc Chagall, meeting his wife Bella Rosenfeld in 1909; they were together for the next 35 years: … Continue Reading Marc Chagall Struck by Lightning
The Great Myths #53: Thor Goes Fishing for the Serpent that Surrounds the World (Norse)
Read the other Great Myths here Long ago the slaughter-gods were eating their hunting-prey in the mood for a drink, … Continue Reading The Great Myths #53: Thor Goes Fishing for the Serpent that Surrounds the World (Norse)
20th Century Poetry #4: Laurence Binyon
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #4: Laurence Binyon
Philip Roth Mourns the Behemoth of Pop Culture
from a 2006 interview: “… television began in 1948, really, and Popular Culture just grew and grew and grew and … Continue Reading Philip Roth Mourns the Behemoth of Pop Culture
William Blake Chooses Eternity
A wonderful paragraph from Peter Ackroyd’s biography of William Blake, where he shows how the poet slowly came to accept … Continue Reading William Blake Chooses Eternity
Joseph Campbell’s Hero Sets Out
A piece of the beginning and end of The Hero with a Thousand Faces: Whether we listen with aloof amusement … Continue Reading Joseph Campbell’s Hero Sets Out
20th Century Poetry #3: W. H. Davies
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 #3: W. H. Davies
On Beethoven’s Deathbed
Here are two passages from Beethoven’s life. The first finds him on his deathbed, and is recorded in the memoirs … Continue Reading On Beethoven’s Deathbed
Robert Frost: “Out, Out – ”
“Out, Out – ” The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks … Continue Reading Robert Frost: “Out, Out – ”
Daedalus & Icarus (poem)
Daedalus & Icarus The old craftsman came to Cumae after a long life of art and flight, love and theft, … Continue Reading Daedalus & Icarus (poem)
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)
Ted Hughes: 2 War Poems
Six Young Men The celluloid of a photograph holds them well – Six young men, familiar to their friends. Four … Continue Reading Ted Hughes: 2 War Poems
Emily Dickinson & Wallace Stevens Climb a Mountain
Emily Dickinson, #975 The Mountain sat upon the Plain In his tremendous Chair – His observation omnifold, His inquest, everywhere … Continue Reading Emily Dickinson & Wallace Stevens Climb a Mountain
Emily Dickinson Affirms a Soul
#1142 The Props assist the House Until the House is built And then the Props withdraw And adequate, erect, The … Continue Reading Emily Dickinson Affirms a Soul
Dylan Thomas: “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower”
The force that through the green fuse drives the flower The force that through the green fuse drives the flower … Continue Reading Dylan Thomas: “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower”
Allen Ginsberg, “Paterson”
Paterson What do I want in these rooms papered with visions of money? How much can I make by cutting … Continue Reading Allen Ginsberg, “Paterson”
Robert Frost: “Out, Out – ”
“Out, Out – ” The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks … Continue Reading Robert Frost: “Out, Out – ”
Hart Crane: “My Grandmother’s Love Letters”
My Grandmother’s Love Letters There are no stars tonight But those of memory. Yet how much room for memory there … Continue Reading Hart Crane: “My Grandmother’s Love Letters”
Mary Robinson’s Poem “A London Summer Morning”
After finishing To the House of the Sun, a poem mostly reliant on translations of ancient poetry (and in some … Continue Reading Mary Robinson’s Poem “A London Summer Morning”
The Poet Speaks #14: Kafka Tries Again & Again
Here are some bits from Kafka’s Diaries, trying & failing to harmonize his writing life with his family and work … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #14: Kafka Tries Again & Again
The Poet Speaks #13: Richard Wilbur & John Berryman: “The artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him”
Even though I’ve never read a word of his poetry, John Berryman has been haunting me lately. Two friends who … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #13: Richard Wilbur & John Berryman: “The artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him”
The Poet Speaks #12: Ralph Ellison, Anthony Burgess, James Dickey
If the Negro, or any other writer, is going to do what is expected of him, he’s lost the battle … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #12: Ralph Ellison, Anthony Burgess, James Dickey
The Poet Speaks #11: George Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Philip Levine, Stephen King, Seamus Heaney: “struggling erring human creatures”
George Eliot, on empathy: The greatest benefit we owe to the artist, whether painter, poet, or novelist, is the extension … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #11: George Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Philip Levine, Stephen King, Seamus Heaney: “struggling erring human creatures”
The Poet Speaks #9: Geoffrey Hill, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, James Merrill, Ursula K. Le Guin: “We are difficult”
On the supposed “difficulty” of his poetry: We are difficult. Human beings are difficult. We’re difficult to ourselves, we’re difficult … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #9: Geoffrey Hill, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, James Merrill, Ursula K. Le Guin: “We are difficult”
The Poet Speaks #8: Patti Smith, Toni Morrison, T. S. Eliot, Hart Crane: “I shall make every sacrifice toward that end”
As even “nerd culture” and all the rest just becomes another snobby fad and pop culture corner to hide in, … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #8: Patti Smith, Toni Morrison, T. S. Eliot, Hart Crane: “I shall make every sacrifice toward that end”
The Poet Speaks #7: Bronowski, Bloom, Munro, Gilbert, Trevor
On why he turned from more specialized to more popular writing on science and culture: Because of that [the use … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #7: Bronowski, Bloom, Munro, Gilbert, Trevor
The Poet Speaks #6: Yeats & Blake
Some great quotes from W. B. Yeats and William Blake, chosen almost at random from two good biographies of them; … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #6: Yeats & Blake
The Poet Speaks #5: Hughes, Auden, Hall, Pinsky, Collins
On why he wrote about animals so much: I suppose because they were there at the beginning. Like parents. Since … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #5: Hughes, Auden, Hall, Pinsky, Collins
The Poet Speaks #4: O’Connor, Campbell, Merwin, Walcott, van Gogh
Flannery O’Connor responds to questions from academics and their students about her short stories: Week before last I went to … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #4: O’Connor, Campbell, Merwin, Walcott, van Gogh
The Poet Speaks #3: Snodgrass, Beethoven, Hollander, Kunitz, Milosz
Advice to aspiring poets: If you can, get out. Everything else in the world pays better. Everything else in the … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #3: Snodgrass, Beethoven, Hollander, Kunitz, Milosz
The Poet Speaks #2: Leonardo, Williams, Bishop, Meredith, Ashbery
Quotes from all over on art & creativity: [Leonardo] was always less concerned with the finishing of a picture than … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #2: Leonardo, Williams, Bishop, Meredith, Ashbery
The Poet Speaks #1: Fitzgerald, Larkin, Paz, Lowell, Aiken
A new series of quotes from everywhere on writing and creativity: I was in the Navy, and I worked at … Continue Reading The Poet Speaks #1: Fitzgerald, Larkin, Paz, Lowell, Aiken
