Verse on the range …

… Cowboy poetry: Using form: Doc Mehl, ‘Poems Used To Rhyme’ (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

One had to be versed in country things …

… For them there was really nothing sad

Now the eyes of my eyes are opened …

… i thank You God for most this amazing / day:

The complete Voca Me …

… Voca Me: A Poem in 72 Voices.

Finding a Bible in an abandoned cabin …

… Eight hundred words of perfect wordless lace

About those polls

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Dangerous liaison …

… POTUS pledges support for South Vietnam in 1954.

Reminder …

… Wedding bells and bucket list

The epistemology of loss …

… The Ball Poem by John Berryman.

Exactly why am I supposed to give a damn what Bill Maher thinks?

Bill Maher sent Democrats into a panic with this terrifying message to Kamala Harris - 247 Politics

Fondly remembered …

… Sonnet for George Burns and Gracie Allen

Learning from falling …

Falling is Not Failure, and Getting up is Not the Point - Front Porch Republic [Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Today’s poem …

… Sarah Manguso — The Bear

What is it men are shrinking from?

… Men hate to die and have stopped dying now.

Nothing gold can stay

 … Then leaf subsides to leaf.

Remembering …

 … https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xny7G9YrrBU&si=72YZ_VrK1v0oa-bK

Mitzi Gaynor at her best.

George and Weedon Grossmith

 

When it comes to The Diary of a Nobody, all I can say is: if it's good enough for Evelyn Waugh -- and evidently it was -- then it's good enough for me. This novel by the Grossmith brothers, George and Weedon, is everything a playful book should be: mischievous, comical, enlightening. But more than that: Diary of a Nobody is very well conceived: it's perfectly written, with a rhythmic style very much of its time. No surprise that Three Men in a Boat, another work of similar scope and ambition, was published within a year of Nobody. 

What I enjoyed most about Nobody -- beside is humor and wit -- was the question it seems to pose just before the surface: which is whether the Victorian fashion for published diaries had to be limited to those of social elites. Here is an upper middle class family -- with the habits and preferences to suit. And yet, in the predictability of their daily routine, in the formulaic nature of their aspirations, there is an epic quality. The Grossmith brothers have done two things very well: first, they have endowed middle class life with humor and levity, without demeaning that life; and second, they have positioned middle class tropes and hopes as items worthy of publication. 

Diary of a Nobody is, of course, just that: but that seems to be exactly the point. This nobody -- this Mr Pooter -- is endlessly interesting and comical and human. Which is the moral, perhaps: humanity can be comical and serious at the same time. Embracing these in equal measures results in the sort of illumination you might otherwise expect from a 'somebody.'

Gathering leaves …

 … And who’s to say where the harvest shall stop?

And so it goes …

 … American society where books have been outlawed

Not what you may think …

 …  Anarchism.

RIP

 … Mitzi Gaynor, star of ‘South Pacific,’ dies at 93.

His own man …

… Joseph Epstein, Yet Again | City Journal (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Frost’s October …

 … Enchant the land with amethyst

Blogging note …

 I am moving back to my apartment today. Blogging will resume afterwards.

Peas, please …

 … I’ve done it all my life

With apologies to Emily Dickinson …

 … Because I could not stop for death…

The political scene …

… Run, Writer, Run! - The American Conservative. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

I never met Vidal or Mailer, but I got to know Bill Buckley pretty well. A remarkably nice man.

Barefoot in the frosty grass …

 … Walk through the garden’s dormant splendor

A poem …

 I love you, dying man under a train,

Your pretty, pretty face bored with ennui.

I won't think: “Can I save you from this dream?”

My love is like a moth flying near flame.

I love you bug that always goes upside-down.

I will keep righting you and righting you.

You are like my pretty, pretty beau.

Who thinks of his demise at slightest let down.

He has died, but maybe he was right.

Maybe things should be perfect beyond belief:

Gorge on ambrosia and filet mignon,

While climaxing wonderfully all day and night.

Yes, everything should be perfect beyond belief.

Or maybe not being bothered easily is key.

Jennifer Knox

People need to rise early …

 … His brightness seldom lasts the day through

Interesting indeed …

… Poem by Diane Sahms-Guarnieri - oddball magazine.

Departed …

 … All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

Someone besides me born on this date …

 … someone fae more imortant than I.

Short bio of president long on leadership skills

Plus ça change …

 Today I officially reached the age of 83. Yes, it’s my birthday. I feel the same as I did yesterday, which may not be great, but isn’t all that bad either. Since you inherit your longevity from your mother and mine made it to the cusp of 90,:I may be around for a bit. But I’ll leave all that to God. 

Lest we forget …

… Instapundit � Blog Archive � HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY: Many in the West will demonstrate their fierce originality and intellectual inde.

Some hard truth …

… Paul Davis On Crime: An ICE-Cold Report On Illegal Immigrant Criminals In The U.S.

Did he smile his work to see?

 Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Just released …

… (25) Gimme A Cowboy - Diamond Dixie (OFFICIAL AUDIO) - YouTube.

Today’s poem …

 … Joseph Ceravolo Stars of the Trees and Ponds.

Give earth yourself, go up for gain above …

 … That is the doctrine, simple, ancient, true…

RIP …

Gratitude, sorrow, suffering and mercy: R.I.P. Greg Hillis | America Magazine,  (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

More voice poems …

 … From Voca Me (2)

Just so you know …

 … The Biggest Climate Whopper Ever Told.

Staying focused …

 … The angle of the sun does not confuse them—

And why we all should …

… Why I stand with Amy Wax - The Spectator World. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem …

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

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes …

 … Germans decry influence of English as ‘idiot’s apostrophe’ gets official 

approval.  (Hat tip, Dave Lull.’

It’s like a schoolhouse of little words …

 … How everything shines in the morning light.

RIP …

… Obituary: Leading NZ poet Fleur Adcock dies | RNZ News. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.) 

Anniversary …

… Bobby Short at 100: A Swinging Steward of the American Songbook - WSJ. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

He was truly great.

And the winner.is …

… South Korean author Han Kang wins the 2024 Nobel prize in literature | Books | The Guardian. 

(Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Looking forward in life …

 …And so it goes in God’s waiting room.

Under the sun…

 …I will be the gladdest thing …

Rachel Cusk

 

I've written about Rachel Cusk before on the blog, but having recently finished another of her novels -- Kudos -- I wanted to offer some additional commentary. 

Cusk seems to have been located within the contemporary genre of auto-fiction: that space carved out, most notably, by Knausgaard. And to a certain extent, that is right: the thin line between character and self is certainly blurred. 

But I think Cusk has developed her own literary space, too: her narrative style -- which has a primary character recount the story of another, more tangential figure -- is very effective. Often, her way of constructing this sort of narration reads like a novel by Sebald: the central character speaks to the reader about a story involving a second character, whose story is invoked by way of memory, or by way of Cusk's signature "he said" or "she said" construction, which regularly appears in the midst of an extended sentence. 

Like Knausgaard, Cusk takes as her content the banal or the expected, but she has a way of universalizing it: of turning it into something existential, or transnational, or profound. Cusk does this in the most unassuming fashion: she recounts a dialogue between one character and another -- and then, before long, the discussion has assumed a quiet gravity, a sense in which what's being discussed between the characters is actually an exchange between the reader and the ideas being invoked. 

What Kudos is about seems beside the point: it is a novel comprised of a series of discussions, which reveal a range of characters, who are themselves ephemeral. This is a novel about ideas, and the ways we, as people -- as characters -- interact with them. There are not many books like this one, and I heartedly recommend it -- as a fresh angle into what literature can be. 

Sounds like Lionel at her best …

 … Lionel Shriver and the Resistance to Satire. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Well, Bob is in a class by himself …

 

… Author Geoff Dyer on Bob Dylan: ‘The songs pour off his records like they’re written in my soul from him to me’.

Learning to look at any empty sky …

 … Were all stars to disappear or die…

Blogging note …

 I am currently in a rehab facility. This involves going to gym and other activities relating to my getting well. Friends and family come to visit from time time. I will blog when I can.

Place your bets …

 … Here are the bookies’ odds for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Warm debate …

 … Pondering the origins of cheese.

Today’s Poem …

 … Fire and Ice. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Decisions …

 … I must answer the difficult question

A poem for today …

 … Sharon Olds — Blossom Trees.

I will arise and go now …

 … And I shall have some peace there

Honoring the day …

 … A Look Back At The Classic James Bond Film 'Goldfinger' On International James Bond Day.

Remembering …

 … The Young Immigrunts, by Ring Lardner . (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Entertained but puzzled …

 Cricket seems to be a baffling and challenging game

Voices poems

 … from Voca Me.

For skies of couple-colour …

 … Glory be to God for dappled things —

Getting Scrooged again …

 …  Dickens and Christmas.

Hmm …

… Trump Calls Upon Saint Michael for Strength in 2024 Presidential Bid - American Voter Polls News.

Three new poems …

 at Wilderness House Literary Review.

Notable debut …

 … Willie Gillis first appears on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post

Slow, slow! …

 … O hushed October morning mild

I don’t get this …

… Garth Brooks Sued By Former Makeup Artist Who Claims He Raped Her In Hotel Room.

If someone does this sort of thing to you, why wait. Why not call the police. It’s a crime

Where my Sun-flower wishes to go …

 … Where the travellers journey is done

Compelling antidote to pessimism …

 … Sometimes controversial and always provocative

Fourteen lines …

 … For the chipmunk in my yard

In memoriam …

… Paul Davis On Crime: On This Day In History Techno-Thriller Novelist Tom Clancy Passes Away At Age 66.

Nature …

 … Being too full of sleep to understand.

Take me out to the ballgame …

 … First professional baseball World Series game.

Let us pray …

… to the Little Flower —Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese- Full Prayer.

Today is her feast day. 

In memoriam …

…130) In Loving Memory of Alexander Waugh - YouTube. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A bird came down the walk …

 … With rapid eyes like frightened beads

RIP …

… Kris Kristofferson, Country Singer, Songwriter and Actor, Dies at 88 - The New York Times.

Espionage is a dangerous business …

 …. This was a bad day in 1780 for British spy John Andre.

Read and listen …

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Night melts into day …

 … Fly, dragonfly! Fly!

Wistful stars with white faces …

 … A touch of cold in the Autumn night—

At the edge of the crater …

 … My involvement with a murderous secret society.

Poetry and painting …

… Zealotry of Guerin: Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin: My Dear Udnie, Part Three of Three.

… My Dear Udnie, Part Three of Three

RIP …

… Actress Dame Maggie Smith dies at 89.

Preparing for the inescapable harvest …

 … In Autumn at the fall of the leaf

Our town …

… Paul Davis On Crime: Dangerous Car Stops Claim Another Cop.

Hmm …

 …‘The Logical Conclusion’ (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Choices …

 … Doves and Butterscotch.

What is man?

 … Demanding all, deserving nothing.

The shadow of the valley …

 … Llyfr Geirfa fy Nhad / My Father’s Vocabulary Book by Gwyneth Lewis.

Untroubling and untroubled …

 … I am—yet what I am none cares or knows.

Please to tell a little Pilgrim …

 … Where the place called “Morning” lies!