Forget me not …

… Abigail Adams urges husband to “remember the ladies”

Sunday’s poem at SOTY

... “Dandelions” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

The power of metaphor …

… Saying new things with old words. (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Q&A …

… The Art of Fiction No. 62

Tracking the decline … …

… The average college student today (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Sad life …

… A Descent Into Poe's Maelstrom (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Remembering …

… Rabbit, Run! The man who wanted to escape his own life (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Poem at LBTY …

… Tell Me by Jean Toomer.

Interesting …

... Cynthia Ozick: ‘Alice in Wonderland seems calculatedly cruel’ (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

The work of a master …

… Poems by Frank O’Hara Plus his manifesto on Personism and writings about O’Hara by Ted Berrigan, Joseph LeSueur, and Joe Brainard (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Poem at LBTY …

… I Didn't Go to Church Today — by Ogden Nash

Listen in

Timothy Heyman on B. Traven and how to manage a literary archive ~ Latest Episode

Interesting suggestion …

… National Public Radio Defund 'em and the donkeys they rode in on.

Another poem …

… Poem of the week: The Beautiful Librarians by Sean O’Brien (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

A bit of music …

… Ledges (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

A taste of chivalry …

… Fortified and Revitalized (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Another poem …

… An Onegin sonnet by Nigel Andrew (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for this morning …

… Eric Overmyer — I Don’t Eat Tuna Anymore.

A look at a master …

… Two Of The Best Crime Short Stories Ever Written: My Washington Times On Crime Column On A Fine Collection of Hemingway’s Novels. Short Stories and Letters

Preview …

… My Crime Fiction: 'Salvie Shotgun'

Matters of taste …

… Anosmia by A.E. Stallings. ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Poem for today at SOTY …

… The world does not needs words…

Elizabethan time capsules …

… Much Ado About ‘Decolonizing’ Shakespeare. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Epistolary wit and wisdom …

… I don’t know so well what I think until I see what I say (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Today’s poem at SOTY …

… A Prayer in Spring

Tales and ponderings …

… John Gardner on Fiction and Philosophy.

More on Flannery …

... Miss O'Conner at 100.

Rembering one forgotten …

… Massie and the Ghost of Luther Martin (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

As many people, I suppose, do …

… How I read poems, with aphantasia (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Notable event …

… Abbess of Andalusia’s birthday

11 at SOTY …

… Fortune / has its cookies to give out / which is a good thing

Another poem …

… Jane Hirshfield — th e Stone of Heaven

A poem for this morning…

… Annunciation. J.C. Scharl

A poem by me …

… JUST A THOUGHT

Emily Dickinson at SOTY …

… How dreary — to be — Somebody!

RIP …

… The Sweet Science Loses Another Great Champion (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Just so you know

… Is it “nerve-racking” or “nerve-wracking”?

A fine look at some masters

… Constellation of Genius: Miłosz, Camus, Einstein, and Weil … and a close look at one of these: Ambassador of dreams

The thrill of the game …

… Play (and Watch) Ball! (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

A holy pair …

… SIGN AND SYMBOL. (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Billy Collins at SOTY …

… If ever there were a spring day so perfect.

A poem for this morning …

… Sanford Edelstein — The Salamander

Arnold Bennett

 

Apologies for my absence from the blog: I've been immersed in, well, in a very long novel. But I've finished it now, and have a few observations to share. 

The novel in question: The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett, published in 1908. I must say, when I first encountered this book, I had limited expectations. This is a big novel, set very much in the realistic style of later nineteenth century French fiction. Put differently, this isn't the sort of work I'd usually enjoy. 

But let me say at the start: wow -- The Old Wives' Tale is an absolute triumph. I could not have been more attached to these characters, nor to Bennett's uncanny ability to chart the impact of time, of history.

The Old Wives' Tale is masterfully written: this is the work of an author who knows how to wield not only language, but syntax and structure. The result is a detailed portrayal not only of the Baines sisters, but of the events surrounding them. In that sense, this is a novel from the inside: industry and early commercialism emerge as characters in their own right, pushing and pulling the sisters from one year to the next. 

And more: there is a very effective element of this novel focused on the emotional lives of the Baines sisters, and what their lives "mean," what legacy they've left. For one sister, the answer must be the defense of place -- of, literally, the family home. For the other sister, the answer is different: it is work, and accumulation of material reward. In the end, however, home and labor result in very little: both sisters are overwhelmed by social and economic factors subtly presented by Bennett. 

It's that presentation -- that conclusion -- which renders this novel so powerful: the Baines sisters struggle and succeed, but then, in the end, the question becomes: for what? Their legacies are washed away by a more modern version of politics, by the emergence of consolidated industry, and by the fading tides of memory. 

This long novel functions very much as a serialized television show might today: there is no rush; there are episodes upon episodes to build characters and place; and there are distant plot sequences which intersect, bringing everything together at last. The Old Wives' Tale is a tremendous accomplishment and one of the most effective examples I can recall of an accessible, readable, realistic novel composed in English. (Between Bennett and Hardy -- I'd take the former!) 

Sounds very good …

… ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Review: Mark Rylance’s Master Manipulator (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Goodbye winter …

… Today’s Poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (Hat tip. Dave Lull.)

Something from SOTY …

… My Long Night by Charles Simic

Sounds like a good idea

…The Navy Joins the War On Drugs

RIP _

_ Catholic writer of Reagan’s iconic ‘Evil Empire’ speech dies at 76. (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Worth pondering _

_ Trump and the Lower Courts

Something from Ogden Nash _

_ Spring Comes to Murray Hill.

A poem for this morning _

_ Olivia Sokolowski Lover of Cars

Well, that’s OK

…New Play "Purpose" Is Anything But Politically Correct (Hat tip, Dave Lull.'

Where we find ourselves …

… A Nation, Not A Side Quest

A poem for this morning …

… Imani Elizabeth Jackson — from “Flag”

Something from somewhere on the Yough …

… “star poem” by Manny Loley

New York, New York …

… Gay Talese’s City. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In case you wondered …

… Is Robert Frost Even a Good Poet?

Memories at somewhere on the Yough …

… John Updike and Frankie Laine

… Sounding the depths

… The Chronicler of Unhappiness. [Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Plus ça change …

… ‘We remember as true things that never even happened’: Julian Barnes on memory and changing his mind (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Preview …

… A Look Back At Life Aboard An Aircraft Carrier During The Vietnam War: 'The Compartment Cleaner'

Time of trouble …

… Shevchenko – Poem for Ukraine

Something from somewhere on the Yough …

… More than 12,000 forced to evacuate Boston

Story over style …

… Good riddance to literary fiction. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A baseball classic …

… Louisa Thomas on John Updike’s “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu (Hat tip, Dave Lull.j

Something from somewhere on the Yough …

… Everyone Sang

A poem for this morning …

… Carlos Drummond de Andrade — The Package

This month …

… March (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for today …

… James Schuyler — Heather and Calendulas

Something from somewhere on the Yough

… Something from somewhere on the Yough

Something from somewhere on the Yough …

… Emily Dickinson poem for Saturday, 3/15/25

Four trees …

… Emily Dickinson poem for Friday, 3/14/25

Remembering a master of it …

… The joy of gossip – AN Wilson (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Happily, I won’t be around for this …

… Asteroid 2024 YR4 and the geekoisie (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Good to know …

… Cynthia Ozick Is Undiminished (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A remedy for these days …

… “Damsels in Distress”: A Cultural Anti-Depressant (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for this morning …

… Andrei Voznesensky — From the Window of a Plane

Something from somewhere on the Yough …

… Emily Dickinson poem for 3/13/25

A poem for this morning …

… Today’s Poem: I Am. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Listen in …

… A new Robert Frost poem was discovered and published. Is it any good?. [Hat tip, Dave Lull.

Catching fire …

… Kingfishers, dragonflies, and more,

What it is exactly …

… Hypocrisy

It is tempting …

… lionelShriver: Am I a culture war addict (Hat tip, Dave Lull.) It may be too early to say if the woke wars are over. The perceived Trumpian “vibe shift” may constitute a mere temporary setback for the inexorable “march through the institutions” by the deranged progressives who’ve dominated us commonsensical normies for over a decade. More ideally, a loudly slammed door consigns all that racial hysteria and gender woo-woo behind it to the status of a bad dream. But the dogma is still out there, and the same brainwashed fanatics still occupy many positions of influence

Sonnet from somewhere on the Yough …

… Singular syntax

As we all are …

… DONE IN BY TIME. [Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In case you wondered …

… Who Will Help a Stranded Manatee? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In the beginning…

… 1st cases of influenza pandemic reported in Kansas

Preview …

… My Crime Fiction: 'The Rigano Murders'

Wow …

… The Best of Mexico City

Hmm …

… “When Robert Frost was Bad” or How a 21st Century Critic reads Poetry (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

From somewhere on the Yough …

… Chinese Restaurant.

One refrains from swatting the fly …

… … When one has lived a long time alone

A note to readers …

i am having technical problems with Blogger. I also have a serious doctor's appointment this afternoon. so I won't be blogging for awhile.

A poem for this morning …

… John Miles —Escape Story

Interesting …

… Trump Names COVID Contrarian to Head NIH, Restore Faith in Science In 1928 , Dr. Alexander Fleming was investigating the properties of Staphylococcus bacteria. He grew some in a petri dish before leaving for vacation. When he got back, a strange mold had attacked the bacteria, destroying it. He noticed the mold seemed to be preventing the bacteria around it from growing. He correctly deduced that the mold must have been secreting a substance that acted as a self-defense chemical. Fleming also had some good luck. The preferred lab animals at the time were dogs. but for some reasonreason, none were available at the tupime. so he had to settle on white rats. Luckily for him and us. dogs are allergic to penicillin. White rats react as we do. hHence, we have penicillin.

A poem for this morning |

… Emily Fragos — The Suicide of Cesare Pavese

Sounding the alarm …

… One of the most famous orations of the Cold War

Appreciation …

… In Loving Memory of Alexander Waugh

I’m certainly not …

… Who’s Afraid of Tom Wolfe? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.) He seemed very nice when I met him at the White House when I was the Inquirer's book editor. Laura Bush had invited us to talk to some school kids.

Dark brown is the river …

… Where go the boats.