Friday, April 30, 2010
Psst ...
... Confessions of a Poet Laureate. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The Republicans, especially, are always worried that someone in the arts is undermining the religious and family values of our country. They suspect poets of being subversives, free-thinkers, sex-fiends, and drug addicts. Their fears are not entirely without foundation. There have not been many American poets, living or dead, you’d want to bring home to meet your grandmother or have speak to your Bible study group.
Charles is a fine poet and a great guy - I spent some time with him after I introduced once at the Library - but he probably doesn't know (I suppose most people don't) that the only poet actually the beneficiary of genuine patronage in U.S. was Edwin Arlington Robinson. A copy of Robinson's poems was given to Theodore Roosevelt by the President's son. He read it and liked it. When he learned that the poet was in straitened circumstances, he got him sinecure in a customs house. Roosevelt was a Republican, of course.
Write two triolets ...
... and call me in the morning (just joking): Opening the Door to Poetry Therapy. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
In case you wondered ...
... UPDATE BELOW: How Google Is Killing An Arts Site (A Twist On "Too Big To Fail"). (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
See also: Sorry about that, folks.
See also: Sorry about that, folks.
Surprise, surprise ...
... Prominent Female Poet Not Included in Iran's Book Of Poets. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Going bankrupt ...
... In Retrospect: Adam Kirsch on Robert Lowell's "Day By Day". (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Miss Emily ...
... The Poet as Gardener and Tiger Lily. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Dave also sends along Emily Dickinson in Bloom.
Dave also sends along Emily Dickinson in Bloom.
Thought for the day ...
He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, and God in everything.- Baltasar Gracián (1601-1658)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Frost and Pinsky
... Old Made New: Was Robert Frost a Modernist?.
... Speaking Jazz: Poetry gets physical as Pinsky jams with musicians.
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
... Speaking Jazz: Poetry gets physical as Pinsky jams with musicians.
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
The Figes affair ...
... The TLS, Orlando Figes and the law.
Also this, from Peter Stothard: One lesson of the Figes affair.
Also this, from Peter Stothard: One lesson of the Figes affair.
The issue is only that scholars, more than all others, should think long and hard before hiring lawyers to stop publication of material about themselves that they dislike - however much they may dislike it.
A backward glance ...
... at Alan Sillitoe: Contributions to the TLS from a "true voice of proletarian feeling".
This week's batch ...
... of TLS Letters: The Theory of Natural Selection, The Two Roberts, The and a, and more!
Holy ad homini ...
... Quite the brouhaha in the National Interest.
Hear, hear.
So, many religious and atheistic ideologies of the past were equally dangerous because their trust, loyalty or ultimate concern resided in a concrete, contemporary figure in the government or church instead of in a never wholly manifested ideal (secular reason or an infinite God) that stands forever in judgment of our historical, fallible efforts.
Hear, hear.
Roaring Bert ...
... "Lawrence thinks critics influential and should realize their responsibility," or, D. H. goes to parties.
Lawrence is at his best in short stories and poems. His plays also seem to be getting more respect lately. J.B. Priestley had this to say of him:
His travel writing is wonderful and Studies in Classic American Literature a minor masterpiece.
Lawrence is at his best in short stories and poems. His plays also seem to be getting more respect lately. J.B. Priestley had this to say of him:
Lawrence was fiercely anti-intellectual; but ... he could not escape from being an intellectual himself, could not use thought and self-consciousness to rid himself of thought and self-consciousness; and this dilemma, together with a disease that found some relief in explosions of rage, goes far to explain the anger and bitter intolerance of a man who was at heart friendly and often an enchanting companion.
Hmm ...
... Like a Bad Houseguest.
This is thoughtful post, with which I largely agree. I would suggest, though, that Kay Ryan and John Ashbery have more in common than may be immediately apparent.
This is thoughtful post, with which I largely agree. I would suggest, though, that Kay Ryan and John Ashbery have more in common than may be immediately apparent.
Updike's endgame ...
... Review of Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu: John Updike on Ted Williams. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Dave also sends along "Hub Fans" Redux: John Updike, Ted Williams, and the Great American Essay.
Dave also sends along "Hub Fans" Redux: John Updike, Ted Williams, and the Great American Essay.
Politesse ...
... Borges avoiding Neruda.
I am only now catching up on things, and I just came upon this also at Nigel's blog: Time to reconsider John Masefield.
I am only now catching up on things, and I just came upon this also at Nigel's blog: Time to reconsider John Masefield.
I had a great time with Nigel during his visit - that is when I bought a copy of Maugham's Cakes and Ale. Also, Debbie finally got a chance to meet Nigel - she had been in Greece when he last visited these parts.
Thought for the day ...
Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and leaves the memory with difficulty. Magical music never leaves the memory.- Thomas Beecham, born on this date in 1879
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
An e-narrative ...
... The Jew's Daughter. (Hat tip, Lee Lowe.)
This is the sort of thing Katie was writing about for The Inquirer before the powers that be there decided that the future of the paper was located somewhere around 1980.
This is the sort of thing Katie was writing about for The Inquirer before the powers that be there decided that the future of the paper was located somewhere around 1980.
In defense of civility ...
... Science Warriors' Ego Trips.
I'm pretty much with Carlin on this. The dogmatism of many of the commenters seems noteworthy
I'm pretty much with Carlin on this. The dogmatism of many of the commenters seems noteworthy
A proud liberal ...
... and a pretty nice guy to boot. I have been exchanging emails with Joe Pugnetti, who blogs at A Liberal Point of View. Joe and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye politically, but it is pleasure to engage with him because he is smart and unfailingly polite. For which reason I recommend you pay a visit to his blog.
Thought for the day ...
Either mathematics is too big for the human mind or the human mind is more than a machine.- Kurt Gödel, born on this date in 1906
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Bryan surfaces ...
... actually, he surfaced on Sunday, though I didn't see this - in spite of a search at Times's website: James Cameron: Beyond the third dimension.
I have a hard time taking Cameron seriously, principally because Titanic was the only movie I ever sat through while silently praying, "Please God, may the words 'The End' appear on the screen."
I have a hard time taking Cameron seriously, principally because Titanic was the only movie I ever sat through while silently praying, "Please God, may the words 'The End' appear on the screen."
Sad episode ...
... Lisa reads: Heresy by S. J. Parris.
I know a bit about Giordano Bruno. I wrote a long poem about him many years ago that gained me a little notoriety at the time. The peculiar thing about his case (regrettably, burning people at the stake was not peculiar at the time and was accepted practice on all sides) is that Cardinal Robert Bellarmine has worked out a deal with Bruno that would have saved the friar from Nola's life. At the last moment Bruno repudiated the agreement and in effect signed his own death warrant.
South Park and the Prophet ...
... 'South Park' and the Informal Fatwa. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... Everyone Draw Mohammed.
... Draw Muhammad Day 2010!
... Everyone Draw Mohammed.
... Draw Muhammad Day 2010!
Thought for the day ...
Hero-worship is strongest where there is least regard for human freedom.- Herbert Spencer, born on this date in 1820
Monday, April 26, 2010
And the winners are ...
... Jones, Le Share PEN/Malamud Award for Short Story. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Hmm ...
... The Book Seer. (Hat tip, Lynne Scanlon.)
No recommendations for Marisa Silver's The God of War, but plenty for Francis Collins's The Language of God.
No recommendations for Marisa Silver's The God of War, but plenty for Francis Collins's The Language of God.
Certainly ambiguous ...
... Beastly Burden. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
There would appear to be a typo in this article. Flaubert's story is titled "The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaller," not "Hospitator."
... Martel allows the second Henry to do what the first Henry could not: to try to convince us that fable and fiction are legitimate ways to remember the Holocaust. Our response to Beatrice and Virgil is inevitably bound up with our response to this allegory—which ends up, deliberately or otherwise, refuting its own premise.
There would appear to be a typo in this article. Flaubert's story is titled "The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaller," not "Hospitator."
Thought for the day ...
For a truly religious man nothing is tragic.- Ludwig Wittgenstein, born on this date in 1889
Sunday, April 25, 2010
RIP ...
... Alan Sillitoe: the loneliness of the long-distance writer. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
See also Alan Sillitoe dies aged 82.
More: Alan Sillitoe: novelist, playwright, poet and children’s author.
See also Alan Sillitoe dies aged 82.
More: Alan Sillitoe: novelist, playwright, poet and children’s author.
Very good question ...
... Michael Kinsley wonders: Who Owns the First Amendment?
For people whose job it is to describe the world, journalists often seem to have remarkable difficulty imagining life in other people’s shoes.
Behind and ahead ...
... at the same time: The Radical Center: The History of an Idea. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... I review Jacqueline Winspear: Mystery, heartbreak in a quainter time.
... Caterer who civilized the West.
... Checking in with Walt Whitman.
... Differing shades of green.
... Caterer who civilized the West.
... Checking in with Walt Whitman.
... Differing shades of green.
Thought for the day ...
... art is human willpower deploying every means at its disposal to break through to a truer state than the present one.- John Ashbery, "Writers and Issues: Frank O'Hara's Question" (from Selected Prose, ed. Eugene Richie)
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Remembering Willa Cather ...
... The Dead Writer’s Almanac (April 24, 2010). (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The two women lived together for four decades. Some scholars have speculated that there was more going on than a super-intense friendship. But since the two women are both dead, I don’t believe it’s germane for us to contemplate if they were Sapphic exemplars or friends with really nice benefits. What Cather and Lewis did was their business. And if they wished to take it to the grave, this was their choice.
Unerringly conventional ...
... Philosophy for the All-Too-Common Man.
... it is an illuminating volume, since what we have on display in it is the bien-pensant mind at its most unguarded and self-revealing. In his own view, if not that of the reader, Grayling is leading humankind on the path of progress. Aware of the almost-impossible obstacles that had to be overcome in order to produce anyone as rational as himself, he does not suppose that progress is inevitable. Yet it seems a source of some puzzlement to him that others do not follow eagerly in his footsteps, and he is quick to accuse those who decline to join him on his pilgrimage of lacking in optimism. It does not occur to him that they might regard the narrow and frowsty world to which he aspires as scarcely worth living in.
An Open Letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer
Dear Mr. Tierney:
Please, listen.
- Cut the Business Section during the week. Run it only on Saturday and Sunday. The age of listing stock-quotes that are a day old has passed. In fact, it passed ten years ago. Offer business analysis, but only on the weekends.
- Cut the Local News Section during the week. Run it only once, on Sundays. Those with an interest in Local News are far more likely to read The Daily News than they are The Inquirer.
- During the week, run only the Sports Page and the Front Page. Expand the Front Page to include more international news. Keep the Sports Page as it is. This is the one thing that The Inquirer does better than The New York Times. And yes, you’re hearing me right: Monday through Friday, run only two sections.
- Add more book reviews, but do so in an expanded Arts Section, which runs on both Saturday and Sunday. During the week, do not run an Arts Section – or a Science Section for that matter.
- Cut all music reviews: the paper must be kidding itself in this day and age to think that this section of the paper, in particular, is of any value.
- Either commit to a Currents Section, or cut it all together by folding it into Arts. As it currently stands, Currents has no identity, no clear purpose.
- Have your editors develop better captions. The writing that appears below Inquirer images is awful.
- In this Age of Technology, The Inquirer’s website is remarkably difficult to navigate. It is also unattractive and uninviting. Don’t you see: to modernize the website (with the assistance of a younger generation raised on The Internet) is to save the paper itself.
Mr. Tierney: If my tone is direct, it is because these matters are urgent. You need honest advice – because honesty is the only thing that will save this paper from the mediocrity to which it has recently descended.
Signed,
Jesse Freedman
Thought for the day ...
And though it is much to be a nobleman, it is more to be a gentleman.- Anthony Trollope, born on this date in 1815
Friday, April 23, 2010
Road to recovery ...
... Mad Yaks & Everyman & Ariel's Gift.
Barbarn notes in this post that she "never knew how much pain two tiny wee holes could cause." Neither did I -- until I had laparoscopic surgery.
Barbarn notes in this post that she "never knew how much pain two tiny wee holes could cause." Neither did I -- until I had laparoscopic surgery.
The trouble with experts (cont'd.) ...
... The Hockey Stick Illusion. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Dave also sends along this: Climate Science In Denial.
Dave also sends along this: Climate Science In Denial.
Thought for the day ...
When you don't have any money, the problem is food. When you have money, it's sex. When you have both, it's health. If everything is simply jake, then you're frightened of death.- J.P. Donleavy, born on this date in 1926
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Mystery fiction ...
... an interview with Rebecca Newberger Goldstein. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Quite right. Because religion isn't even primarily a propositional affair, even if many believers seem to think it is.
... treating religion as a simple propositional affair seems to miss a great deal of what’s going on when people disagree about religion. Grasping what the world is like for those who see and feel it quite differently is surely a requirement for communicating, and here’s where the art of fiction can be helpful. It trains one’s mind that way in general.
Quite right. Because religion isn't even primarily a propositional affair, even if many believers seem to think it is.
Another Lull ...
... Poets Cornered #117. (Raimundo Lulio translates as Raymond Lull, a.k.a., Blessed Raymond Lull.)
Rhou swell, thou pretty ...
... thou sweet, thou grand: Talk Like Shakespeare! (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This is very interesting ...
... an interview with Paul Siegell, one of the May 2010 features.
Proof of something I've longed thought was true, that poetry's house has many mansions.
See also: Parking Lot Poetry: A Review of “jambandbootleg” by Paul Siegell.
Proof of something I've longed thought was true, that poetry's house has many mansions.
See also: Parking Lot Poetry: A Review of “jambandbootleg” by Paul Siegell.
More ...
.. on Beatrice and Virgil, with a guest appearance by Ed Champion: Nothing can equal Pi.
In all fairness, Martel comes off in this as a pretty level-headed dude.
And, for a bit a perspective on Ed, here's his review of Donald Westlake's Memory: A pulp mystery story - and so much more.
In all fairness, Martel comes off in this as a pretty level-headed dude.
And, for a bit a perspective on Ed, here's his review of Donald Westlake's Memory: A pulp mystery story - and so much more.
Thought for the day ...
Great joy, especially after a sudden change of circumstances, is apt to be silent, and dwells rather in the heart than on the tongue.- Henry Fielding, born on this date in 1707
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tackling the tough guys ...
... NNT at Hard Problems Symposium.
See also: Learning From Erwan Le Corre & Robust Exercise.
(Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
See also: Learning From Erwan Le Corre & Robust Exercise.
(Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This week's batch ...
... of TLS Letters: The Alien and Sedition Acts, Auden’s pain, Hopkins in Dublin, and more!
Impregnable ...
... Fortress Beckett. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm not sure about that. Genuine faith, I think, makes one cautious, at the very least, regarding articles of faith.To subscribe to a creed of any kind, political or religious, would have been to have faith, of which Beckett never had a shred, at least not in the conventional sense ...
... it was in those ordinary decencies–drink, food, conversation–that Beckett believed, and in Art, and in little else.Again, I think it is genuine faith that is likely to inspire reverence for such "ordinary decencies."
Be prepared ...
... Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Hacker.
As Henry Fielding remarked long ago, those who lay the foundation of their own ruin find that others are apt to build upon it. By constructing, and then relying on, vulnerable systems that are now entwined with almost every aspect of American life, we have laid just such a foundation. The time has come to fix it or at least to refine the systems to avoid catastrophic failure.
Take that ...
... The 50 best author vs. author put-downs of all time. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Baudelaire's put-down of Voltaire reminds of something De Maistre said of Voltaire: "Voltaire, who touched upon every subject without ever penetrating the surface of any ..."
Baudelaire's put-down of Voltaire reminds of something De Maistre said of Voltaire: "Voltaire, who touched upon every subject without ever penetrating the surface of any ..."
Thought for the day ...
I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.- Hippolyte Taine, born on this date in 1828
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Volumetrics ...
... BiblioBazaar: How a Company Produces 272,930 Books A Year. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Notes ...
... from a bookish weekend:
Two Poes for the price of one.
Swierczy and his Wayback Machine.
Pulp of a Dead Tree.
Two Poes for the price of one.
Swierczy and his Wayback Machine.
Pulp of a Dead Tree.
This is funny ...
... in response to this post, Dave sends along this link: WILL UNWOUND #87: “This is No Joke!” by Will Manley.
Here’s what really blows my mind. The newspapers are following the lead of the bloggers in presenting this story. In other words professional journalists are getting their news from blogs that may or may not be reliable. Don’t they care that this survey was a tongue in cheek attempt at humor? Does this worry you about the news industry and journalists in general?
Love and marriage ...
... British Library archive throws light on Hughes-Plath romance. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Paper wars ...
... more on orlando-birkbeck: Historian's wife and her poison pen expose dark side of literary criticism. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
Monday, April 19, 2010
Still going strong ...
... Holbrook says anniversary performance will be special. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
Looking for a spark ...
... Tom Stoppard: 'I'm the crank in the bus queue'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"Yes," Stoppard admits, "there's a lot of editorialising. The pedantry is me. I'm vaguely embarrassed by myself sometimes. I'm offended by things and take pathetic little stands against them. When I was coming to meet you just now, I walked past French Connection, which still has that supposedly brilliant piece of advertising – FCUK – in the window. I used to like French Connection. But, from the moment those adverts began, I never set foot in one of the shops again. I refused to support anyone who thought this was clever rather than childish. I'm a sad case, really."
Happily ...
... I am not one of the stinkers, though I do get a nice mention: Six stinkers of the Year: A Retrospective.
Ch-ch-changes ...
... Some Cheer, Jeer AP Change from 'Web site' to 'website'. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
What might have been ...
... National Enquirer Wins Pulitzer Prize.
I rather think they ought to have won, given how the mainstream media decided the citizenry didn't need to know that John Edwards is world-class scumbag.
I rather think they ought to have won, given how the mainstream media decided the citizenry didn't need to know that John Edwards is world-class scumbag.
Paging Max Bialystock ...
... Springtime for Shakespeare. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The worst thing about the passage that I have quoted is its apparent endorsement, or uncritical acceptance, of Freud’s characterization of the Nazis as “right-wing.” This seems to me simplistic to the point of dishonesty, or at least symptomatic of a desire that complex social and political realities should be located on an analogue scale from right to left or left to right. If such a scale must be used, it seems to me that there is as much, if not more, reason to place Nazism on the left of it rather than on the right.
Rimbaud grown up ...
... French booksellers discover first adult Rimbaud picture. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Some poems ...
... courtesy of Rus Bowden.
Friendly by Carl Dennis.
Against War Movies by Jehanne Dubrow.
Generic by Rachel Hadas.
'Indescretion of the American Wife,' 1954 by Suzanne Frischkorn.
The Wind didn’t come from the Orchard—today by Emily Dickinson.
Two poems by Kim Addonizio.
To see the world by Tammy Ho Lai-Ming.
Friendly by Carl Dennis.
Against War Movies by Jehanne Dubrow.
Generic by Rachel Hadas.
'Indescretion of the American Wife,' 1954 by Suzanne Frischkorn.
The Wind didn’t come from the Orchard—today by Emily Dickinson.
Two poems by Kim Addonizio.
To see the world by Tammy Ho Lai-Ming.
Leaven of malice ...
... Sunday Salon: About Reviews and Reviewing. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think the essential note here is that "Historian Orlando-Birkbeck" is definitely an interested party. And there is a place for harsh reviews, but even they must be fair and grounded in evidence. Naturally, I prefer not to write them if I don't have to. Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves, which I reviewed recently, was a real disappointment. I had looked forward to reading it and then found it exasperating. Someone recently sent me an email telling me she wished she had seen my review before she got the book and started reading it. One must be honest, but one needn't be gratuitously nasty (though in the case of established authors like Cormac McCarthy, an occasional take-down probably does them some good).
On the State of Criticism and Reviews
A very interesting Q and A with Leon Wieseltier. See, especially, the bits between 35:00 and 42:00.
Thought for the day ...
Religion, society, nature; these are the three struggles of man. These three conflicts are, at the same time, his three needs; it is necessary for him to believe, hence the temple; it is necessary for him to create, hence the city; it is necessary for him to live, hence the plow and ship,- Victor Hugo, The Toilers of the Sea
Sunday, April 18, 2010
I agree about Chuck Norris ...
... and maybe about old flames: 10 Things the Internet Has Killed or Ruined (and 5 Things It Hasn't). (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Could it be ...
.. that there is something evolution can't explain? Consciousness: What Evolutionary Good Is It? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Dave also sends along this: Does Evolution Explain Our Behaviour?
Dave also sends along this: Does Evolution Explain Our Behaviour?
A little bit of commentary ...
... from yours truly: A little radical thought to get to the root of the issue.
I'm bumping this post because Dave Lull has sent along a piece that bears on it: Healthcare Con.
Also from Dave, this may help those who reflexively equate libertarianism with the right: Alliance of the Libertarian Left.
See also this.
I'm bumping this post because Dave Lull has sent along a piece that bears on it: Healthcare Con.
Also from Dave, this may help those who reflexively equate libertarianism with the right: Alliance of the Libertarian Left.
See also this.
Fascinating ...
... Awesome of the Day: Every Painting in the MoMA in Two Minutes. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Tapping a rich seam ...
... Evelyn Waugh's Grandson on the Secret Behind 'Brideshead'. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Mark Bowden reviews Matterhorn: A gripping saga of men at war.
... Spirited New York in World War II.
... Maureen Corrigan looks at 4 generations of Palestinian refugee family.
... Out friend Susan Balée discovers how Love, mundane life lie under the Wall.
... Obama's journey to personal, political self.
... Spirited New York in World War II.
... Maureen Corrigan looks at 4 generations of Palestinian refugee family.
... Out friend Susan Balée discovers how Love, mundane life lie under the Wall.
... Obama's journey to personal, political self.
Thought for the day ...
Streets paved with opal sadness,5
Lead me counterclockwise, to pockets of joy,
And jazz.- Bob Kaufman, born on this date in 1925
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Interesting ...
... Gallery of my Favorite Modern Literary Books -Nassim N Taleb. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
We share some favorites -- Alain-Fournier, Gaston Bachelard, Durrell's Justine, Santayana, among others. Don't share the fondness for John Gray and the appeal of A Confederacy of Dunces has always eluded me.
Maybe ...
... Mark Twain: 'the true father of all American literature'? (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
He isn't for me, though I enjoy him enough.
He isn't for me, though I enjoy him enough.
Timely ...
... Jonathan Yardley reviews 'The Publisher,' by Alan Brinkley. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)
That impression is correct. The people in today's newsrooms may inveigh against "conservatives," but they themselves are almost all conservative in the worst sense of the word, pathetically enamored of their glory days.
My own impression is that newspaper people today, however valiantly they struggle to adapt to the new order, at heart want to keep doing things the same old way. Almost certainly that's not going to work, so an exploration of the life of a man who went off in his own direction is very much in order.
That impression is correct. The people in today's newsrooms may inveigh against "conservatives," but they themselves are almost all conservative in the worst sense of the word, pathetically enamored of their glory days.
Another take ...
... on Beatrice and Virgil: A Donkey, a Monkey And a World of Evil. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Missed opportunties ...
... maybe: 7 unproduced screenplays by famous intellectuals. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Very interesting ...
... Wyndham Lewis’s Art Criticism in The Listener, 1946-51. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
Who tells a finer tale than any of us? Silence does.- Isak Dinesen, born on this date in 1885
Friday, April 16, 2010
Granting access ...
... Reading: Harvard Views of Readers, Readership, and Reading History. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The best kind ...
... Fruitful Tensions. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
One cannot be a philosopher unless one believes that at least some important truths are attainable or at least approachable by dialectical and argumentative means. Thus there is no place in philosophy for the misologist, the hater of reason, and his close relative the fideist. Reasoning and argument loom large in philosophy . . . .
I am no fideist and I certainly believe some important truths are approachable by dialectical and argumentative means. But I doubt if reason is the decisive factor in arriving at the truth, and I do not "favor reason over experience and tradition, the universal over the particular, the global over the local, the impersonal over the personal."
I am no fideist and I certainly believe some important truths are approachable by dialectical and argumentative means. But I doubt if reason is the decisive factor in arriving at the truth, and I do not "favor reason over experience and tradition, the universal over the particular, the global over the local, the impersonal over the personal."
This week's batch ...
... of TLS Letter: Madagascar in history, Situationists?, Copy-editors, and more!
Bryan lives ...
... 'Who knows the fate of his bones?...' (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Walt Whitman's brain came to a sad end when a lab assistant at Penn dropped the bottle containing it on the floor, shattering both bottle and brain.
Walt Whitman's brain came to a sad end when a lab assistant at Penn dropped the bottle containing it on the floor, shattering both bottle and brain.
Thought for the day ...
Sex is a momentary itch, love never lets you go.- Kingsley Amis, born on this date in 1922
Thursday, April 15, 2010
And while we're at it ...
... also by Lee: Obituary.
The wipers need replacing. I pull out into traffic, hear the angry bleat of a horn behind us, take a deep breath and focus on the road. Light from oncoming headlamps shatters in the tracks left by the wiper blades, a bedazzlement like sunlight on ice. After a moment I risk a sidelong glance. Patrick has settled back and closed his eyes, as though waiting for a thaw. Droplets on his hair, his face—the miracle of rain. I look back to the road. He doesn’t speak till we reach the river.
Interrupted blogging ...
I've posted next to nothing today because, last night, I started reading novel called The Inheritance by Simon Tolkien, J.R.R.'s grandson. I read about 75 pages and would have read more, but I was too sleepy. First thing this morning I picked it up again and that is what I have been doing all day: reading. I just finished it. Absolutely first-rate.
Thought for the day ...
People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.- Thomas Szasz, born on this date in 1920
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Updike and O'Hara ...
... Frank O’Hara’s “The Day Lady Died”. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Click on at the bottom to hear Updike read it.
Click on at the bottom to hear Updike read it.
Script and scripture ...
... Heirs to the Throne. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Pen of Iron makes a convincing case that it is impossible to fully appreciate American literature without knowing the King James Bible—indeed, without knowing it almost instinctively, the way generations of Americans used to know it.
Of noses and paper clips ...
... or, Why Yann Martel’s Beatrice and Virgil is the Worst Book of the Decade. Ouch!
What can I say? I loved this, Blue Meanie that I am.
What can I say? I loved this, Blue Meanie that I am.
Master of self-destruction ...
... `The Beautifullest Harmonies'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
My thanks to Patrick for the kind words about my poem. They are deeply appreciated.
My thanks to Patrick for the kind words about my poem. They are deeply appreciated.
RIP ...
... Professor Antony Flew: philosopher.
See also this, courtesy of Dave Lull: Antony Flew.
I remember reading God and Philosophy many years ago. I was impressed -- Flew was a clear thinker and a sharp writer -- but not quite persuaded.
See also this, courtesy of Dave Lull: Antony Flew.
I remember reading God and Philosophy many years ago. I was impressed -- Flew was a clear thinker and a sharp writer -- but not quite persuaded.
Hanging on ...
... Lisa reads: The Survivor’s Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life by Ben Sherwood.
Maybe because I started flying when I was a kid -- flying with my older brother in light aircraft - I am completely fatalistic about flying. I also took the quiz Lisa links to and apparently I'm a connector. I gather this is good and bodes well for survival.
Thought for the day ...
While it is well enough to leave footprints on the sands of time, it is even more important to make sure they point in a commendable direction.- James Branch Cabell, born on this date in 1879
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
For the past several weeks ...
... I have been significantly under-par both physically and otherwise. Hence, the erratic blogging. I am slowly coming around -- as far as I can tell only rest helps. Nevertheless, I can feel myself returning to normal. So bear with me a bit longer.
Trumpets and drums, please ...
... Miss Marple and Kinsey Millhone are the winners. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Not such a bad guy ...
... once you get to know him: Ron Slate on Don Juan, His Own Version, a novel by Peter Handke.
Very interesting ...
... Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again.
There is mention in this of "some evolutionary advantage." Is there another besides survival?
There is mention in this of "some evolutionary advantage." Is there another besides survival?
Thought for the day ...
It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a sincere emotion, though why there should be I cannot imagine, unless it is that man, the ephemeral inhabitant of an insignificant planet, with all his pain and all his striving is but a jest in an eternal mind.- W. Somerset Maugham, Cakes and Ale
Monday, April 12, 2010
Wish I'd been there ...
... Samuel Menashe reading at the New York Public Library, April 10th 2010. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Well, sure ...
... Don't be afraid of Wagner. He's not a Nazi.
It's true. He wasn't a Nazi, and you shouldn't be afraid of him. Though you may be bored by him, as I find I increasingly am. But he continues to have his passionate devotees. And that's fine.
It's true. He wasn't a Nazi, and you shouldn't be afraid of him. Though you may be bored by him, as I find I increasingly am. But he continues to have his passionate devotees. And that's fine.
Neat ...
... Bill Griffith's Bukowski; or Why Rex Morgan Doesn't Cut the Cheese.
When I worked at The Inquirer, I routinely urged them to pick up Zippy the Pinhead. Too hip for them, however (reader surveys indicated as many people disliked the strip as liked it).
When I worked at The Inquirer, I routinely urged them to pick up Zippy the Pinhead. Too hip for them, however (reader surveys indicated as many people disliked the strip as liked it).
More on trees ...
... `Old Favourite Tree'.
Amazing how many of us have been affected by the ravages wrought by Dutch elm disease.
Amazing how many of us have been affected by the ravages wrought by Dutch elm disease.
Hmm ...
... Evidence that we human use thought largely for ornamental purpose. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Gratitude ...
... Lucky man. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I could say much the same about my own mother. I had a bit of luck yesterday myself, when I came upon at this site (brought to my attention by Joe of New York) this quote from, I believe, the Psalms: "This is the day the Lord made. Rejoice and be glad." Today, athe same site, I cam upon this: "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart."
I haven't mentioned her lately in this space, so perhaps it's worth saying that my mother did everything right (other than failing to teach me how to cook). Evelyn Teachout, who turns eighty-one in June, mysteriously neglected to make any of the all-too-familiar mistakes that blight the lives of so many of the people I know. She showed me how to laugh, admired my achievements, brushed off my failures, assured me whenever necessary that pretty much anything I wanted to do in life would be fine with her, and never left me in the slightest doubt of her love. She embedded in me what Freud called "that confidence of success that often induces real success." You can't get much luckier than that.
I could say much the same about my own mother. I had a bit of luck yesterday myself, when I came upon at this site (brought to my attention by Joe of New York) this quote from, I believe, the Psalms: "This is the day the Lord made. Rejoice and be glad." Today, athe same site, I cam upon this: "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart."
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