Just so you know …

… Why going nuclear is humanity’s only hope ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In memoriam …

… “…when everything that dies shall rise.” ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

It happened up the road from Harper’s Pond …

… Disaster in Pennsylvania

Something to think on …

Quotes To Inspire You - Quotes To Inspire You

A poem for this morning …

… Rachel Mannheimer — New Haven

Something to think on …

Quotes To Inspire You - Quotes To Inspire You

Thursday’s poem at Harper’s …

… The Want of Peace

A poem for this morning …

… Alberto Caeiro — 1

I’ve used it myself …

… Using form: Villanelle: Rachel Hadas, ‘However Cool’ (Hat tip, Dave Lull,)

For a good reason …

… They Were Every Student’s Worst Nightmare. Now Blue Books Are Back (Hat tip, Dave lull)

In case you wondered …

… Why we must save the semicolon from extinction (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for this morning …

… Michael Benedikt — The Chest of Energy

A stone’s throw from Harper’s Pond …

… A stone’s throw from Harper’s Pond

Tuesday’s poem at Harper’s Pond …

… How to Regain Your Soul

A poem for this morning …

… Deborah Landau — Dear Someone

Surprise, surprise …

… Jeffrey Epstein Exploited the U.S. Virgin Islands for a Reason

Something to think on …

… Quotes To Inspire You - Quotes To Inspire You

Decoration Day …

… 1st “Memorial Day” held on May 30, 1868

Wise words — from Bill Valicella …

… Carl Schmitt on Compassion

The morning cloak …

… The Conception of Life As an Enchanted State (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

A poem for this morning …

… Marjorie Welish —+6

Big step for the future…

… Delegates begin work on new U.S. constitution

Seems that way …

… The Supreme Court is putting Venezuelan child killers ahead of the law

Something to think on …

Quotes To Inspire You - Quotes To Inspire You

A poem for this morning …

… Alice Notley — The Answer Is Awe

Our media in decline …

… We Did NAZI This Coming! WaPo Asks the Burning Question: 'Where Do Jews Belong?'

The Purple Witch …

… On the German Democratic Republic. ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Our failing media …

… Chicago Sun Times and the Philadelphia Enquirer had published summer reading lists composed of many books that do not actually exist (Hat tip, Dave Lull) My former emploer's name, of course, is The Inquirer.

A noteworthy thinker …

… Remembering Alasdair MacIntyre (1929-2025) ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for this morning …

… Allison Funk — On Pruning

A critical biography …

… Buckley in the line of fire ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Some new books of powms …

… The violets bear them away (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Born in Scotland…

… Birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Something to think on …

Quotes To Inspire You - Quotes To Inspire You

FYI …

… Bombshell: New Research Overturns Claim that Humans and Chimps Differ by Only 1 Percent of DNA

Philip Roth

 

I've come a long way in my appreciation for Philip Roth -- in no small part because much of what he had to say in his novels has, in some strange way, come true. About Israel, or American Jewry, or identity politics in England: Roth had a way of anticipating trends, of peering behind the curtain to see what was coming. I've always admired Roth for this quality, and novels like The Counterlife and Operation Shylock are among my favorites. 

I came recently to Deception, an odd novella Roth published in 1990, which fits loosely with his other writing from this period. It's a perplexing book because it is without narration: it's instead an extended dialogue between two adulterous characters, one very reminiscent of Roth himself. The novella includes familiar themes, including Roth's time in Britain and his perspective on modern Judaism. The book is about more, though, that these themes: instead, like parts of The Ghost Writer, Roth wrestles in Deception with the nature of invention: with the thin line between literary imagination and lived experience. Put differently: Deception is about the extent to which writers deceive -- both in person and on paper -- in order to create compelling works of fiction. 

All of that said: the book did not work for me. Knowing what Roth can achieve with a complete novel, Deception felt like an afterthought, like an incomplete work, like an experiment. There were kernels of wisdom, of course -- but as a literary experience, it left me disappointed. The characters needed more meat, more heft: they were without the momentum that you might otherwise expect from Roth. I see Deception as having delivered a sound philosophical argument around the nature of literature and autobiography, but as having failed -- at least to an extent -- as a work of art. Or, then again, perhaps I have been deceived...

Hospice at Harper’s Pond …

… Hospice by Robin Becker

Hope for comedy …

… The Estonian ‘Killer’ (Hat tip, Dave Lull) Every now and then, however, a promising performer — somebody who actually does it right — turns up

Read and enjoy …

… My Crime Fiction: 'Hit The Head'

Something to think on …

… Quotes To Inspire You

A poem for this morning …

… Peter Filkins — Soundboard

A poet well worth getting to know

… Exiled to Paradise (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Let’s hope it sticks around …

… Marked decline in semicolons in English books, study suggests ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Good advice for sure …

… “Please Keep Caring.” What John McPhee Taught Generations of Writers and Journalists (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for this morning …

… Charles Bernstein — Clouds After Rain

…William Wordsworth at Harper’s Pond

… The Tables Turned

Good idea …

… Can learning cursive help kids read better? Some policymakers think it’s worth a try (Hat tip, Dave Lull.) I went parocial school. we started learning in first grade, first day.

That he was …

… Dickens the Enchanter’ Review: A Wellspring of Words ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Remembering …

… ‘Op. posth. No.13’ (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Check this out …

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Ben Jonson (again) at Harper’s Pond …

… On My First Daughter

Prequel to revolution …

… Battle of Alamance in 1771

A poem for this morning …

… The Whole Shebang (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Noteworthy …

… Friends Hospital founded in Philadelphia

May they rest in peace …

… Latest Report On Officers Killed in the Line of Duty

Today ir starts …

… Moonstone Poetry May 14 to May 25, 2025

A quote for today …

Quotes To Inspire You - Quotes To Inspire You

Listen in …

… INSECTOPOLIS

Ron Chernow’s latest is not worth the effort …

… Missing the mark

A thought for today …

… Setting goals

In case you need one …

… A Reader’s Guide to the Sam Tanenhaus Biography of William F. Buckley Jr. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

And another …

… Fallacy (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Another poem …

… An Outline of Trees — JAMES MATTHEW WILSON (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Traveling with VPOTUS

… Vice President confronted by anti-American demonstrators

A poem for this morning …

… Barbara Hamby — Ode to Untoward Dreams

Major setback for Americans …

… Terrible news from Charleston, South Carolina

Faith’s comeback …

… Ross Douthat and the New Theism. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for this morning …

… Greg Kuzma — Spring

A poem for this morning …

… James Schuyler —=Going

Robert Herrick at Harper’s Pond…

… We weep to see you haste away so soon

The power of observation …

… The Butterfly: Flights of Enchantment (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Enchantment and mystery …

… Never Forget: Dana Gioia searches for cultural inheritors (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Up close and personal …

… Working With Frank Lloyd Wright: The Architect’s Last Living Client Shares His Experience With the Visionary (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Makes sense …

… Art That Probes the Darkness Sometimes Darkens Itself ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

William Blake at Harper’s Pond …

… Earth’s Answer

A poem for this morning …

… Antonella Anedda — [Pindar says the poet must guard the apples of the Muses]

Q&A …

… A Novel Individual: An Interview with William F. Buckley Jr. on his Fiction ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Emily Dickinson at Harper’s Pond …

… The Bustle in a House (1108)

Just so you know …

… Details Avoid Bias ( Hat tip, Dave Lull)

A poem for this morning …

… Harry Fainlight — Trans

A poem for this morning …

… Harry Fainlight — Trans

Another poem …

… The Dybbuk —=Boris Dralyuk (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

You’ll see why …

… Hilarious and Eye-Catching Signs People Just Had to Snap Photos of ( Hat tip, Jon Caroulis)

Probably …

… 10 Movies That (Almost) Everyone Loves ( Hat tip, Jon Caroulis)

One of a kind …

… Logan Pearsall Smith. ( Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

A poem for this morning…

… Charles Simic — Thus

Q&A …

… Richard Rodriguez on Pope Francis, the Church and the ‘Moral Laziness’ of America (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Reading Robert Herrick at Harper’s Pond …

… Gather ye rose-buds while ye may…

In case you wonder …

… Who was William F. Buckley Jr., really? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

The Figure on the Hill at Harper’s Pond …

… The Figure on the Hill

Taste of a masterwork …

… A Beautiful Passage on Pain, Loneliness, and Sorrow

The decline of the national sport …

How Major League Baseball lost its soul ( Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Worth considering…

… Lionel Shriver : The trans nonsense must stop It is mental illness (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Reading Robert Frost at Harper’s Pond…

… Then leaf subsides to leaf

Interesting …

… Author Barbara Pym may have worked for MI5, research suggests (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Reading William Blake at Harper’s Pond…

… The Divine Image

Apologies …

Blogging took a bit slowvroday, i spent a good part of today in a nearby hosoital. I have an infection and was given an antibiotic. luckily, i have dear friens who watch ober, evereyone han a blessed night,

Peace comes dropping slow …

… I will arise and go now…

Still going strong T 97 …

On Cynthia Ozick's 'In a Yellow Wood' (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Primary source …

… Sunrise on the Reaping: Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games prequel was inspired by Scottish philosopher ( Hat tip, Dave Lull)

In praise of a classic

… Canticle for Leibowitz An Augustinian Wasteland (Hat tip, Dave Lull)

A word for today …

… Roman-à-clef

A poem for this morning …

… Terese Svoboda — Old God

A worsening problem …

… Murder By Fire: My Broad & Liberty Piece On Arson

RIP …

… David Horowitz, My Father ( Hat tip, Dave Lull)

Dangerous times …

… U.S. plane shot down while conducting espionage

Something for today at 15135 …

… It was the first day of May