... sort of: Apparently, the panel that I moderated at the U.S. Constitution Center in July - with Lorene Cary, Lawrence Hill and Beverly Lowry - will be on Book TV sometime tomorrow. Unfortunately they don't seem to have a schedule posted for tomorrow. If I find out when it's on, I'll be sure to update this alert. It's worth seeing - not because of me, obviously, but because of the panelists, who were excellent.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Theme and variations ...
... Lawrence Durrell in the ambiguous white metropolis.
Durrell seems lately to getting more of the attention he well deserves.
Durrell seems lately to getting more of the attention he well deserves.
Blind faith ...
... which, of course, is the worst kind - indeed, no faith at all: Bryan interviews John Berger.
Which reminds me of Auden's lines: "Time that with this strange excuse/Pardoned Kipling and his views,/And will pardon Paul Claudel,/Pardons him for writing well."
His writing saves him, as does the warmth and passion of his personality. His politics, meanwhile, exist in a bubble of withdrawal from reality, the correlative of his withdrawal to this hillside farmhouse.
Which reminds me of Auden's lines: "Time that with this strange excuse/Pardoned Kipling and his views,/And will pardon Paul Claudel,/Pardons him for writing well."
How refreshing ...
... The Return of Nature. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Some years ago, my foster son and I went to do some hiking in Pennsylvania's Tuscarora State Forest. We planned to sleep in the forest, then do some heavy-duty walking the next day. But we only brought sleeping bags and it started to rain pretty hard, so we gathered up our stuff and went back to our truck and spent the night stretched out in the back. Where we had settled for the night in the forest was some yards off the trail, and both of us - pretty experienced hikers - sensed how different the forest felt there than it did on the trail. It was as if the wilderness tolerated us while walking through the forest, but off the thoroughfare that was the trail we were intruders. I don't think anyone who really gets to know nature ever tends to Disnefy it.
They have my support ...
... Criminals we can get behind.
Seems to me it's those responsible for the erroneous signs who are at fault.
Seems to me it's those responsible for the erroneous signs who are at fault.
Perfect for Sunday ...
... God in the Dock. (Hat tip, Lee Lowe.)
The headline for this is quite misleading. The story clarifies what faith really is all about. I should also note that I have always been most impressed by the contrast between God as frequently portrayed in the Old Testament and God as usually portrayed in the New Testament. I actually find a good deal of the Old Testament repellent.
Two quotations ...
"There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress ... than I had any conception of, before I became President of the U.S."
"I cannot, whilst President of the United States, descend to enter into a newspaper controversy."
- James K. Polk
"I cannot, whilst President of the United States, descend to enter into a newspaper controversy."
- James K. Polk
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Second generation ...
... The son of John le Carré on ninjas, mimes and his first novel. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Desultory blogging ...
... it's a holiday weekend and I have a deadline to meet. So blogging will be spotty. Plan on getting up to speed after Labor Day.
For Gwen ...
... who will understand. (I have a letter from Harry Nilsson and we talked on the phone a couple of times. He had a beautiful talent and was a truly cool guy. So was I - once.)
Friday, August 29, 2008
Absolute realism...
... Cynicism and The Wire.
I do not share Bryan's apparently Calvinist view of human nature, but I largely agree with what he says here.
I do not share Bryan's apparently Calvinist view of human nature, but I largely agree with what he says here.
Enjoy your punctuation ...
... Apostrophe Apostle: The Girl's Like Spaghetti by Lynn Truss.
I strongly recommend getting acquainted with the BooksForKidsBlog.
I strongly recommend getting acquainted with the BooksForKidsBlog.
Good to know ...
... not mere rhetoric. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
What does it mean to be a poetry critic? Should a poetry critic also be a poet?
Both writers and readers can be critics and the former may well benefit from the latter more than the latter will from the former. Always good to know what your audience thinks.
What does it mean to be a poetry critic? Should a poetry critic also be a poet?
Both writers and readers can be critics and the former may well benefit from the latter more than the latter will from the former. Always good to know what your audience thinks.
Everyone, it seems ...
... is going to California - at least everyone from Britain: Induction to California.
Bryan, as we all know, attained true enlightenment in the high desert. Maxine was just there also. I've only been there once myself and except for passing up an opportunity to take up residence on a Chinese junk have never regretted coming back east. It's not for me.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
More pix ...
Correction: The tree is at the bottom of Vosburg Neck, where the cabin we stay in is located. The second photo is of the Susquehanna River, right at the tip of Vosburg Neck. The third is also of the Susquehanna, but in Sugar Run, somewhat farther west. They look English, I think, because there's something in me that "sees" English.
More bad news ...
... about book reviews: Mark Athitakis on the State of Alt-Weeklies. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This bears pondering.
This bears pondering.
Top 10 thoughts ...
... the ten best articles published in philosophy this year. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
For plant and book lovers,
the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College is hosting a book club called Nature's Narratives. They'll be discussing books by John McPhee, Jamaica Kincaid, Stanley Kunitz and others.
Teens and YA librarians talk—
about technology, zines, and gaming in this podcast from the Young Adult Library Services Association.
Wildflowers ...
From top: Goldenrod, wood sorrel, ajuga, and jewel-weed (wild impatiens, also known as touch-me-nots).
Three pieces ...
... from Standpoint, sent to me by Dave Lull:
Alain de Botton on Study the Birds and the Bees.
Robert Conquest on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Patriot, Poet and Prophet.
Roger Kimball on John Stuart Mill.
Alain de Botton on Study the Birds and the Bees.
Robert Conquest on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Patriot, Poet and Prophet.
Roger Kimball on John Stuart Mill.
If only ...
... Richard Dawkins had a sense of humor: On God.
I am perhaps being unfair. I presume Dawkins doesn't have a sense of humor because he takes himself and his views so seriously. (Don't I take myself and my views seriously? I certainly don't take myself very seriously. As for my views, they are subject to continual revision. Dawkins's seem pretty set in stone to me.)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
New maybe ...
... good, well that's something else: Dissecting Carmine.
A former professor of mine once said, “Form makes content.” Back then I was unable to explain my visceral rejection of this statement, but Starnino’s editorial choices prove that maxim untrue; form, in the grip of an inadequate mind, makes nothing.Couldn't agree more. Form derives from content, not the other way around.
I beg to differ ...
... Waugh Contra Mundum: The problem Catholicism of Brideshead Revisited. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
I just re-read Brideshead while on vacation. Waugh could have chosen for the book's epigraph this passage from the Gospels: "The Son of Man came to call sinners, not the just." Lord Brideshead's intellectual grasp of Catholicism has turned his faith into a grotesque etiquette. Except for the old nurse and Cordelia - and the priest who attends Marchmain at the end, and who is not at all patronizing (I think I know priests better than Michael Weiss does) - there are no exemplary Catholics in the book (and by "exemplary" I do not mean that they are saints; I mean simply that they go about practicing their faith simply and correctly). They are all sinners. The mystery at the heart of the book is the mystery of God's mercy. That is why the book tends to confound the humanistic imagination.
In search of ...
... the inner candle: Richard Todd's Meditation on Authenticity. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I was working on something like this about myself while I was on vacation.
I was working on something like this about myself while I was on vacation.
Congratulations ...
... to me, I guess. I just noticed that this blog has toted upon more than a half-million hits. Thanks, I say, to Katie, John, and Eliza.
Innovation indeed ...
... a newspaper without employees.
The Inquirer could be heading toward being a newspaper with only managers (they, of course, are brilliant).
The Inquirer could be heading toward being a newspaper with only managers (they, of course, are brilliant).
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Unhappy campers ...
... Philly papers target managers in new round of layoffs. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
Well, considering how top heavy newsroom management there is, this seems only fair.
Not good elsewhere, either: New York Times Co. July revenue falls 10.1 percent.
I wonder if Pinch realizes yet that he's a fool.
Well, considering how top heavy newsroom management there is, this seems only fair.
Not good elsewhere, either: New York Times Co. July revenue falls 10.1 percent.
I wonder if Pinch realizes yet that he's a fool.
For those in Philadelphia,
there's a music and poetry event this evening on South Street hosted by the recently formed Community Cultural Exchange.
Reputable manifestations
We totally forgot about the literary translators convention and its financially constrained reduced number of events. We just wish, considering the amount of translating talent on hand, that the press release announcing the event were more felicitously phrased.
Good to have him back ...
... Marcus Aurelius, that is, Not Ozymandias.
Marcus's Meditations has exerted a great influence on me throughout my life.
By the way, go to Thought Experiments and just keep scrolling. Lots of good stuff, as usual.
Marcus's Meditations has exerted a great influence on me throughout my life.
By the way, go to Thought Experiments and just keep scrolling. Lots of good stuff, as usual.
Three for three ...
... from Nige:
... Fuels Rush In.
... Reading and Forgetting.
... Butterflies Fall Prey to Global Chilling.
... Fuels Rush In.
... Reading and Forgetting.
... Butterflies Fall Prey to Global Chilling.
Wisconsin woman arrested
for neglecting to return her library books. The best part is the big grin she's wearing in her mug shot—and the fact that she still refuses to bring the books back.
Monday, August 25, 2008
No, the enemy is ...
... unclear thinking: Is faith the enemy of science? (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
This indicates that MacKenzie hasn't a clue as to what faith is. Blind acceptance has nothing to do with it. He might start by trying to gain some genuine understanding of the subject before going on about it. That's how sound thinking proceeds. MacKenzie's bland assumptions certainly seem to have compromised his ability to think critically.
Update: Dave Lull sends along Faith and the Human Genome.
MacKenzie ... feels that the blind acceptance necessary for faith might “compromise one’s ability to think critically, a key ingredient in scientific thinking”.
Update: Dave Lull sends along Faith and the Human Genome.
Blogging to resume ...
... mine, that is. Though gradually over the next few days as reentry to routine existence proceeds. Katie, Eliza and John have done a great job in my absence. My thanks to them.
Here's a great list of poems to read
"when you get stuffed in your locker," compiled by Caitlin Kimball for the Poetry Foundation (I tip my hat to Mr. Dave Lull).
It never fails
that the moment you learn about something it starts popping up everywhere. I'm reviewing a charming graphic novel set in the mid to late 1800s called The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard for the Santa Barbara News-Press, and guess who's in there? Spring-Heeled Jack, who I posted about last week. When will he stop plaguing me?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I am not back ...
... I am sitting on the porch outside our room at the Inn at Jim Thorpe. Tomorrow we will back in Philly. Tonight I may blog a little, but not much.
Two haiku ...
Wind shakes the branches
And sunlight splashes my face
The cries of bluejays
— Frank
Dependent on death
Mushrooms cling to dead tree bark
To keep them alive
—Debbie
Thursday, August 21, 2008
In other book signing news,
a mystery publisher has posted an ad on craigslist, looking for fakers to autograph books for two bestselling authors. The audacity! (Thanks again to Dave Lull.)
David Sedaris offends anti-smoking folks,
and other funny things happen in this short piece on book signings and comic exaggeration. (Thanks to Dave Lull for passing this on.)
A few days ago
I read an interview with Rebecca Miller (who I can't help but feel is a little overrated as a fiction writer although I am basing this opinion entirely on her book of short stories, Personal Velocity, and I DO plan to read her new novel, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee), in which she said she'd recently enjoyed Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk, and now I'm reading it, and yeesh, I'd say it's scary-good.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Urban legends, steampunk-style.
Well, it's not steampunk, more like actual Victoriana. Has anyone else heard of Spring-Heeled Jack? I've been listening to Morrissey today (as you do), and although I've heard the song "Spring-Heeled Jim" 200,000 times in my life it occurred to me for the first time to wonder about its title: Is it a reference to something from history or literature, as so many lyrics of his are? I guess in a way it's both, because looking online I have been reading about old Jack, who was apparently a penny dreadful character and a scary man-like creature that some people claimed was real. Apparently he could jump really high and liked to terrorize and assault people on the street. If you look at the drawing of him, which appears clearer in the wikipedia entry, get ready for the fright of your life.
I've been working on an anthology
that I finally finished this weekend. It's called The House You Grew Up In, it's a collection of 17 short pieces of writing on that topic, and I published it as a zine. Our own Frank Wilson has a touching piece in it, and the poet Rane Arroyo contributed a beautiful short essay. All the writing is really very good. Steve Larder, a talented artist from the UK, made some absolutely great looking drawings for it. Have a look, why dontcha. Buy a copy, even.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Lurve
Here's another interesting list post, this one about the best books about love. (Thanks again to Mr. Dave Lull for passing this on.) My question: Does What We Talk About When We Talk About Love count?
An interesting way to look at a collection
Dave Lull referred me/us to this blog post by Rob from Scotland on the final lines of the final poems in 12 collections off his shelf.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Book club
Oprah has announced her book club selections, and PA writer and poet Jen Bryant just let me know that her book Ringside 1925: Views From the Scopes Trial made the reading list for kids 12 and up. Go Jen!
Face Space
The endlessly fascinating subject of physiognomy is explored in "The Kingdom of Infinite Space"
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Radioheads!
I saw Radiohead play the Camden waterfront last night. It was a beautiful night and the band sounded incredible. (The Radioheads is a long-standing joke I have with my sister. I think that every time I've seen them play I've gone with her.) Dan DeLuca reviewed the show for the Inquirer. (Hat tip, the sister.)
Listening to the show last night I was reminded of a "literary mix tape" I made for our own Frank Wilson earlier this summer. The idea was to make a collection of rock songs that make references to books, poems, writers, and so on. Radiohead made it on there with a song from their most recent album, In Rainbows, called "Faust Arp." Others included "Billy Budd" by Morrissey and Sinead O'Connor's The Lamb's Book of Life, in which she paraphrases lines from Yeats' "Remorse for Intemperate Speech." The name of that last one sounds dull, I know, but anyone who knows the poem knows it sure isn't. Anyone else have favorite lit'ry pop songs ?
What are you reading?
Philadelphia Weekly asked a bunch of people, one of whom was me, what they're reading this summer. I was totally okay with admitting to reading Slash's autobiography (Slash, naturally), among other things. What are you all reading?
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Personally, I'm in favor of the li'l darlin' but...
...a surprising number of people are arguing for a complete semicolonectomy.
If Frank were still with us..........
.........(Relax. He's just on vacation, retirement being very grueling apparently) I'm sure he'd post with approval the following post from Patrick Kurp. Thanks, Dave Lull for the heads-up.
Monday, August 11, 2008
If you've already read "What's wrong with my snake?" and "How to abandon ship"...
.........you might want to try some of these titles.
Noir at the Bar
If you're in Philadelphia on August 19 check out the newly re-scheduled reading at The Tritone to hear Dave White read rom his Shamus Award-nominated "When One Man Dies". Scroll down a bit.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Ultramodern intellectual,
writer, multimedia performance artist, and mixologist Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky, was interviewed on To the Best of Our Knowledge, a radio show produced by Wisconsin Public Radio. The episode's theme is remix culture. You can listen to it here.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Calling Wallace Stevens ...
... Southern Florida Community Overrun by Peacocks. (Fixed, thanks to Dave Lull.)
They need to ponder Domination of Black.
They need to ponder Domination of Black.
Desultory blogging ...
... while I have still have internet access. We are here. We stop here routinely in our way to and from Tunkhannock. The drive yesterday was awful. 309 on a Friday afternoon is slower than downtown Philadelphia. I must study the county roads.
On this date ...
... in 1922, Philip Larkin was born. This post by Patrick Kurp is nice way of remembering him:
`A Serious House on Serious Earth'. Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
See also Birthday Boy.
`A Serious House on Serious Earth'. Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
See also Birthday Boy.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Farewell ...
... for a while.
By the time this post appears, Debbie and I will be in Jim Thorpe, PA. On Sunday we will arrive at the cabin in Vosburg Neck where we will spend the next couple of weeks. Possibly a little, but probably no blogging until after we return on Aug. 25. My blogging partners are likely to post in the meantime, but they all have day jobs.
Until later, my best to all.
Until later, my best to all.
Specialité de l'universe ..
... We are special. Take it from a University of Guelph astrophysicist. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
Period piece ...
... Six Flags Over Woodstock. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"... its target market is all too clearly those aging hippies who, like Talleyrand's Bourbons, have learned nothing and forgotten nothing."
Thank God, I am immune to nostalgia.
"... its target market is all too clearly those aging hippies who, like Talleyrand's Bourbons, have learned nothing and forgotten nothing."
Thank God, I am immune to nostalgia.
Unspoiled ...
... East Village, Before the Gentry. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I regret to say that my own neighborhood is being steadily gentrified. Who knows how long it will be before they'll want me to move out.
I regret to say that my own neighborhood is being steadily gentrified. Who knows how long it will be before they'll want me to move out.
The debate continues ...
... Reading, Concentration, and Change: A 2nd Reply to Kevin Kelly. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"We find it harder and harder to concentrate in the ways we used to. "
I have not noticed this about myself. But then I am selective in my use of technology. I don't have a Blackberry. I don' have a cell phone. I rarely watch TV. (That to Dave for pointing out that I left out the "not".)
"We find it harder and harder to concentrate in the ways we used to. "
I have not noticed this about myself. But then I am selective in my use of technology. I don't have a Blackberry. I don' have a cell phone. I rarely watch TV. (That to Dave for pointing out that I left out the "not".)
Thursday, August 07, 2008
R.I.P. ...
... Simon Gray: rakish and versatile playwright.
... An interview: Bringing the House Down. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... An interview: Bringing the House Down. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The revolution ...
... marches on: The Digital Pen That Will Change How You Take Notes.
I guess it's an improvement. I always took minimal notes in college - just a phrase to help me recall what was being said, because I have a good memory and for that reason would actually pay attention to what was being said. I noticed that those who took copious notes often did less well on tests. I figured it was because concentrating on taking notes kept them from concentrating on the lecture.
Related posts ...
... You Still Can't Write About Muhammad.
... Apparently, The Terrorists Planned to Spam Random House's Servers. (Hat tip, Dave Lull for both.)
... links and comments by Glenn Reynolds.
I've been too busy to pay attention to this, and I'm too mentally tired to try to get a handle on it to comment. But nobody needs me to help them think.
... Apparently, The Terrorists Planned to Spam Random House's Servers. (Hat tip, Dave Lull for both.)
... links and comments by Glenn Reynolds.
I've been too busy to pay attention to this, and I'm too mentally tired to try to get a handle on it to comment. But nobody needs me to help them think.
Much in what he says ...
... or maybe not enough. Or maybe it just needs to be rearranged: LIVING WITH NEGATIVE CAPABILITY. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... Montaigne, a sceptic who probably had no religious beliefs himself but who used his scepticism to leave open a window to faith.
This is nonsense, which leads me to wonder what exactly it is Professor Gray doesn't understand - Montaigne or faith or both. He should read Donald Frame's biography.
Living with what Keats called 'negative capability' - 'in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason' - requires more nerve. That is why Holloway's approach to questions of faith is so admirable. It is also, I fear, why it will not catch on. Weak religion can never be popular ...
What he and Holloway call weak religion is what I would call sound religion. It is certainly what mine is and it fits Newman's understanding of faith as making us capable of bearing doubt. As for being popular, well it was Jesus who advised entering through the narrow gate. But the point isn't popularity; it's quality. Jesus thought of his followers as the salt of the earth - scattered grains seasoning the whole.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
R.I.P. ...
... Longtime Missouri poet, Charles Guenther, dies at 88.
... Saluting a life in poetry.
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
... Saluting a life in poetry.
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Blogging hiatus ...
I am actually back in my old place at The Inquirer toiling away on a roundup of books for the fall preview issue. So blogging is going to have to be light until I find some time to do it.
Miracle beverage ...
... Sorting Out Coffee’s Contradictions.
Wonder when people are going to stop and think about how many of the "health hazards" the media has droned on about over the years were phony.
Wonder when people are going to stop and think about how many of the "health hazards" the media has droned on about over the years were phony.
Interesting discussion ...
... "A solemn thriller is really rather a bore": Raymond Chandler speaks; Ian Fleming listens. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
Pick a peck ...
... The Power of Peter Piper: How alliteration enhances poetry, prose, and memory.
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
More correspondence ...
... So I Have Thought of You: the Letters of Penelope Fitzgerald. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald, who is not, so far as I know, related.)
Literate actor ...
... Dirk Bogarde's letters - part one. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
Bogarde's memoirs are worth reading. He wrote with style. Hey, he had style.
Bogarde's memoirs are worth reading. He wrote with style. Hey, he had style.
Posthumous security ...
... Why Raymond Carver's legacy keeps on growing. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
Literary IPO ...
... Penniless author sells shares in next novel. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald, who says that potential investors in her next book may leave contact information here.)
The finish line ...
... On Death.
A readiness to die is, as Solzhenitsyn notes, rare in a materialist society. But it is a very healthy thing - not just in self-defence, but also as the primary aspect of nobility.Indeed.
Rediscovery ...
... Ed Champion looks at The Novels of John P. Marquand.
Edmund Wilson probably preferred Sinclair Lewis because Lewis was more obviously didactic than Marquand. Wilson seems not to have noticed that Marquand was by far the better writer. Of course, I happen to think that Wilson himself is over-rated.
Quite a twofer ...
... Melville Climbs A Mountain And Catches A Whale (1850).
Today is Conrad Aiken's birthday. He is a most unjustly neglected poet. Here is
Today is Conrad Aiken's birthday. He is a most unjustly neglected poet. Here is
- MORNING SONG OF SENLIN
- (from "Senlin, A Biography")
by: Conrad Aiken (1889-1973)
T is morning, Senlin says, and in the morning
When the light drips through the shutters like the dew,
I arise, I face the sunrise,
And do the things my fathers learned to do.
Stars in the purple dusk above the rooftops
Pale in a saffron mist and seem to die,
And I myself on a swiftly tilting planet
Stand before a glass and tie my tie.- Vine leaves tap my window,
Dew-drops sing to the garden stones,
The robin chips in the chinaberry tree
Repeating three clear tones. - It is morning. I stand by the mirror
And tie my tie once more.
While waves far off in a pale rose twilight
Crash on a white sand shore.
I stand by a mirror and comb my hair:
How small and white my face!--
The green earth tilts through a sphere of air
And bathes in a flame of space.
There are houses hanging above the stars
And stars hung under a sea. . .
And a sun far off in a shell of silence
Dapples my walls for me. . . - It is morning, Senlin says, and in the morning
Should I not pause in the light to remember God?
Upright and firm I stand on a star unstable,
He is immense and lonely as a cloud.
I will dedicate this moment before my mirror
To him alone, and for him I will comb my hair.
Accept these humble offerings, cloud of silence!
I will think of you as I descend the stair. - Vine leaves tap my window,
The snail-track shines on the stones,
Dew-drops flash from the chinaberry tree
Repeating two clear tones. - It is morning, I awake from a bed of silence,
Shining I rise from the starless waters of sleep.
The walls are about me still as in the evening,
I am the same, and the same name still I keep.
The earth revolves with me, yet makes no motion,
The stars pale silently in a coral sky.
In a whistling void I stand before my mirror,
Unconcerned, I tie my tie. - There are horses neighing on far-off hills
Tossing their long white manes,
And mountains flash in the rose-white dusk,
Their shoulders black with rains. . . - It is morning. I stand by the mirror
And surprise my soul once more;
The blue air rushes above my ceiling,
There are suns beneath my floor. . . - . . . It is morning, Senlin says, I ascend from darkness
And depart on the winds of space for I know not where,
My watch is wound, a key is in my pocket,
And the sky is darkened as I descend the stair.
There are shadows across the windows, clouds in heaven,
And a god among the stars; and I will go
Thinking of him as I might think of daybreak
And humming a tune I know. . . - Vine-leaves tap at the window,
Dew-drops sing to the garden stones,
The robin chirps in the chinaberry tree
Repeating three clear tones.
Live Not By Lies ...
... Carlin Romano on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Truth-telling Solzhenitsyn remained great to the end.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Thoughts out of season ...
... Solzhenitsyn's 1978 Harvard Address.
See also this.
I have spent all my life under a communist regime and I will tell you that a society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed. But a society with no other scale but the legal one is not quite worthy of man either. A society which is based on the letter of the law and never reaches any higher is taking very scarce advantage of the high level of human possibilities. The letter of the law is too cold and formal to have a beneficial influence on society. Whenever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relations, there is an atmosphere of moral mediocrity, paralyzing man's noblest impulses.
Legal frames (especially in the United States) are broad enough to encourage not only individual freedom but also certain individual crimes. The culprit can go unpunished or obtain undeserved leniency with the support of thousands of public defenders. When a government starts an earnest fight against terrorism, public opinion immediately accuses it of violating the terrorists' civil rights.
What sort of responsibility does a journalist have to his readers, or to history? If they have misled public opinion or the government by inaccurate information or wrong conclusions, do we know of any cases of public recognition and rectification of such mistakes by the same journalist or the same newspaper? No, it does not happen, because it would damage sales. A nation may be the victim of such a mistake, but the journalist always gets away with it.
Having experienced applied socialism in a country where the alternative has been realized, I certainly will not speak for it. The well-known Soviet mathematician Shafarevich, a member of the Soviet Academy of Science, has written a brilliant book under the title Socialism; it is a profound analysis showing that socialism of any type and shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit and to a leveling of mankind into death.
To defend oneself, one must also be ready to die; there is little such readiness in a society raised in the cult of material well-being. Nothing is left, then, but concessions, attempts to gain time and betrayal.
See also this.
In the New Haven Review ...
... high praise for Kay Ryan's spindly, aphoristic poetry - and more; keep scrolling.
Perennial chuckles ...
... Flatulence joke is world's oldest. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald, who also informs me that "Marshall McLuhan considered detective fiction the highest form of literature and jokes the be-all bend-all of intelligent discourse, especially puns." Sounds reasonable to me.)
Today's must read ...
... Thought Experiment. (I just checked one of my email accounts, and see that Dave Lull not only sent me a link to Bryan's post, but also thought I might have something to say about it.)
As I have said before, journalism lures one into an illusion of knowledge which, as the years go by, is increasingly undermined by one's increasing awareness of great ignorance.
This is true, but only of really good journalists like Bryan. And really good journalists are, of course, in the minority.
Wittgenstein may have pointed this out, but that doesn't make it true. And I don't think it is true.
Brilliant.
If he were to say 'I have a pain', then his accuracy would be unchallengeable by any authority, even though, as Wittgenstein pointed out, the grammar of the sentence is wrong; it should be something like, 'There is a pain in the room.'
Wittgenstein may have pointed this out, but that doesn't make it true. And I don't think it is true.
It is necessary to act as if truth is possible. This is a form of faith and, I suspect, the reason the personal has become so fashionable is because people find such faith increasingly hard or unacceptable. The personal, in short, is the secular.
Brilliant.
Go with it, Minx ...
... Weird!!
I once heard Peter Straub explain that these are moments writers be on the alert for - and that should always follow where they lead.
I once heard Peter Straub explain that these are moments writers be on the alert for - and that should always follow where they lead.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
R.I.P. ...
... Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies at 89.
... Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn dead.
... a fuller obituary from the Boston Globe: Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies at 89.
... the Times of London: Last struggle is over for Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
... Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn dead.
... a fuller obituary from the Boston Globe: Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies at 89.
... the Times of London: Last struggle is over for Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Pathetic ...
... this may explain more about the decline of newspapers than anything else I've seen: AngryJournalist.com.
Everytime I turn in an article, I turn in clean copy with no errors, just to have my editors f*** with it and add grammitical and style errors.Hmm.
These new kids pray to the altimate pagen for thanks in the internet. Because, without the internet, nobody would talk to them.
A fresh look ...
... at the New Critics: When Lit-Crit Mattered. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The New Critics were still in the ascendancy when I was in college, but their advocates tended sometimes toward the overbearing. Still, I learned a lot from it (though what is "The Intentional Fallacy" other than a turgid explication of D.H. Lawrence's admonition to trust the story, not the storyteller?). But a poem is not a lab specimen; it is a portal to life.
The New Critics were still in the ascendancy when I was in college, but their advocates tended sometimes toward the overbearing. Still, I learned a lot from it (though what is "The Intentional Fallacy" other than a turgid explication of D.H. Lawrence's admonition to trust the story, not the storyteller?). But a poem is not a lab specimen; it is a portal to life.
Pseudo-history ...
... and its perils: Can't See the Wood for the Factoids.
Thanks to a long-deceased governor - Gifford Pinchot, who was himself a forester - Pennsylvania's state forests are among the best managed on the planet.
Thanks to a long-deceased governor - Gifford Pinchot, who was himself a forester - Pennsylvania's state forests are among the best managed on the planet.
Nor mine ...
... The Books That Did Not Change My Life.
Off the top of my head I'd say that the book that has had the greatest influence in my life was Mother Goose. The rhymes caught my fancy immediately and the verbal sound effects I think is what led to my interest in poetry. Poe, of course, further encouraged this. Keats sealed it.
Wasting away ...
... On Being Thin.
As long as Bryan feels good, more power to him. I weigh more than I did 20 years ago - though not much more - but I've always thought it was not be a good idea to weigh the same as I did when I was a youth. I am also fascinated (appalled?) by those gaunt and harried-looking men my age trying desperately (or so it seems to me) to stay in competition with guys half their age. Bear in mind, my doctor tells me I'm quite healthy (perhaps I should worry about that). I can walk the 2.2 miles from here to The Inquirer in about 35 minutes and not be remotely out of breath. In the long run, though, I will be dead.
Quite possibly ...
... An Overlooked Literary Genius? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The art of storytelling is definitely underrated. It is, like the art of poetry, something one either has or doesn't. You can learn how to write verse, but poetry is a gift. So is storytelling.
The art of storytelling is definitely underrated. It is, like the art of poetry, something one either has or doesn't. You can learn how to write verse, but poetry is a gift. So is storytelling.
Down, Rover ...
... Taming the criticism beast. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thanks to Lee for the kind words and even kinder dedication.
Thanks to Lee for the kind words and even kinder dedication.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... I size up John Banville's latest Benjamin Black opus: Irish novelist returns to action mode.
Note: The following paragraph should be in italic - and was when I sent it in; it's a quote from the book:
... Randall Miller looks at The abandoned Catholics.
... Caroline Berson ponders Warrier Girls: For their sports, women play hard but hurt harderTrying to be a good man, facing penance again.
Note: The following paragraph should be in italic - and was when I sent it in; it's a quote from the book:
His reports on Northern Ireland during the Troubles, on the massacre in Tiananmen Square, on the Rwandan genocide, on the intifada, on the bloody afternoon in Srebrenica, not so much reports as extended and passionate jeremiads - there would be no more of them. Something had ceased in him, a light had been extinguished, he did not know why.
... Randall Miller looks at The abandoned Catholics.
... Caroline Berson ponders Warrier Girls: For their sports, women play hard but hurt harderTrying to be a good man, facing penance again.
I love dinosaurs,
and I love this guy's web comic. The pictures are always exactly the same. Genius.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Uh-oh ...
... we forgot this: ‘Middlemarch’ and ‘Karamazov’ - together at last!
Now there would be a couple: Mary Ann Evans and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Now there would be a couple: Mary Ann Evans and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
PostSecret,
the website that posts pictures of postcards people have sent to Frank Warren, the site's creator, revealing their "secrets" (without revealing their identities) has been turned into a book and a tour and a whole big deal. They just announced new tour dates. I've heard of kids pranking this thing and I have to wonder how many of the secrets are fakes.
And
I also just downloaded the new Nine Inch Nails album for free from the band's website. It too has been released into the world under a Creative Commons license (this one). Thank you, Internet! Thank you, Trent!
Whoa,
this looks interesting. There is a festival of online performances called UpStage taking place on August 8-9. I haven't heard of this before but according to the website UpStage is an open source server application that allows you to watch and interact with other people's performances live on a web page, without downloading any special software (you just need a Flash player plug-in or whatever). You can also download the program for free and use it to make your own art pieces, though I don't know what creating said pieces actually means in practical terms; I'll have to try it myself and see. I like this too because it's licensed under a Creative Commons copyright! Fight the power!
Oops ...
... Kafkaesque story morphs badly.
I don't know who derekcatermole is, but as someone who has edited Ed Champion, let me say that Ed's prose is never turgid, reviews are expected to have a point of view (which does not make them tendentious), and where the hell is the pomposity?
I don't know who derekcatermole is, but as someone who has edited Ed Champion, let me say that Ed's prose is never turgid, reviews are expected to have a point of view (which does not make them tendentious), and where the hell is the pomposity?
Oh neat,
I just discovered what must be a newish feature on LibraryThing, the site that lets you catalog your book collection. Each day it lists the births and deaths of literary figures throughout history for that day. On this date in 1922, apparently, Alexander Graham Bell died, a fact the site included because he wrote a few books on speech and telephony. Hm.
An afterthought ...
... It occurs to me that am posting everything for Saturday on Friday night, because I will be otherwise occupied on Saturday. So if I seem unresponsive to email Saturday, that will be the reason.
So that's what Gregor was up to ...
... Franz Kafka’s porn brought out of the closet. (Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
Friday, August 01, 2008
And why not ...
... A Poetic Celebration of Horses.
I'm a big horse fan. In fact, many years ago, I did the racing charts at The Inquirer. Then my career began to spiral downward.
Good to know ...
... Mahler triumphant.
I fell in love with Mahler's music one afternoon when the fifth symphony was played on the radio. I guess I was maybe 17. At the time I believe there was only one complete set of the symphonies on record. Most of the recordings were of the third, fourth, second and ninth. Mine was thought at the time to be an odd enthusiasm. All that started to change in 1964, Mahler's centenary year.
This week's batch ...
... of TLS Letters, including a rousing defense of V.S. Naipaul (toward the bottom).
Talking fish
I'm very interested in theories of human language evolution. Here's a—uh—new one I just read about on LiveScience.com via the Utne Reader's blog: People learned to talk from talking fish. I'm oversimplifying in a silly way of course. It's more like this: Researchers at Cornell are now saying that (to quote the LiveScience article): "the chirp of a bird, the bark of a dog and all the other sounds that come out of animals' mouths are the products of the neural circuitry likely laid down hundreds of millions of years ago with the hums and grunts of fish."
