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
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
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
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
If you only read one page from “Moby-Dick”…
…it might as well be this passage from late in the book, when Ahab and Starbuck almost give up their … Continue Reading If you only read one page from “Moby-Dick”…
The Palace of Winds (rereading “The English Patient”)
Our love for certain books or movies or pieces of music are so intense that we like to imagine our … Continue Reading The Palace of Winds (rereading “The English Patient”)
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
Classic Joyce
Too much to choose from, but here’s some classic bits from James Joyce that are always worth keeping in mind: … Continue Reading Classic Joyce
