... I figure since I just wrote about him, I would post a link to one of my favorites among his poems:
As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
It is still ...
... Fourth of July Weekend. And so it is not too late to these excellent posts by Patrick Kurp: Made in U.S.A.' and `The Celebrated Coup'.
Above is Stuart Davis's Percolator.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Maxine returns to consider Pickup artists, squid sex and evolution.
... I spend time with an author's fans: A clear-eyed look at Whitman's 'prophets'. (Note: Someone, presumably on the copy desk, decided to move Bolton, England, which is near Manchester, to Massachusetts, while leaving it near Manchester, presumably the New Hampshire one.)
... Paul Davis isn't taken with the new Bond book: Bond's back, but author misses the mark on 007. (This week's Inquirer book page really is a reunion of sorts.)
... also Dave Robicheaux's Montana break.
... A town in thrall to Little League.
A very nice mix of reviews, I think.
... I spend time with an author's fans: A clear-eyed look at Whitman's 'prophets'. (Note: Someone, presumably on the copy desk, decided to move Bolton, England, which is near Manchester, to Massachusetts, while leaving it near Manchester, presumably the New Hampshire one.)
... Paul Davis isn't taken with the new Bond book: Bond's back, but author misses the mark on 007. (This week's Inquirer book page really is a reunion of sorts.)
... also Dave Robicheaux's Montana break.
... A town in thrall to Little League.
A very nice mix of reviews, I think.
Hermit thoughts ...
... An Anesthesia of Miracles: Guest Blog* by Chris Crittenden.
I generally agree with this, but the prison population of the U.S. is 2.3 million. Since the overall population is 301 million, one in 100 Americans are not in prison.
I generally agree with this, but the prison population of the U.S. is 2.3 million. Since the overall population is 301 million, one in 100 Americans are not in prison.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Coup de grace ...
... this sure sounds as if it could do philosophy in: Yeah, these philosophy professors will give it some thought. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
All mixed up ...
... Wrong winner book event defended.
Bullough has more to say on his blog.
And here's some video: Error as book award announced.
(Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
Bullough has more to say on his blog.
And here's some video: Error as book award announced.
(Hat tip, Judith Fitzgerald.)
Don't be so sure ...
... about Socratic Skepticism.
According to Skeptic magazine, skepticism is “the application of reason to any and all ideas … it is a method, not a position.” Well, I have no objection to applying reason to any and all ideas, but I remain skeptical as to whether reason is the sole means of judging truth. You do not, for example, arrive at a knowledge of your own existence by a process of reasoning.
Life in Lopez ...
... Homemade rockets (and helmets) in paradise.
As Roger knows, I am familiar with Lopez, having spent a good bit of time hiking in World's End State Park, which is not far from there.
Also,check out When the Germans had Guernsey cowed.
As Roger knows, I am familiar with Lopez, having spent a good bit of time hiking in World's End State Park, which is not far from there.
Also,check out When the Germans had Guernsey cowed.
Maxine weighs in ...
... Asking the tough questions.
Very worth reading. On a less depressing note, check out Alternative histories website.
Very worth reading. On a less depressing note, check out Alternative histories website.
To begin the day ...
... get to know Guy Davenport: “A difference of imagination”. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I regret never meeting Davenport. My late friend, the composer John Davison, had known him since at least the time when Davenport taught at Haverford.
I regret never meeting Davenport. My late friend, the composer John Davison, had known him since at least the time when Davenport taught at Haverford.
Friday, July 04, 2008
I love it ...
... and what a way to end the Fourth: Colombian army duped FARC by wearing … Che t-shirts.
Via Instapundit.
Via Instapundit.
And yes, you guessed right: I'm not a Che fan. But then I remember watching on TV clips from the post-revolutionary tribunals. And I remember thinking that young Raoul in particular looked like a mean little bastard. I was a Young Tory then, of course.
Put it down ...
Teachers of literature and philosophy possess specialized knowledge, Fish asserted, but they do not have a ministry. The humanities can’t save us, and in fact they don’t really “do” anything, other than give pleasure to “those who enjoy them.” Those of us involved with the humanities should reconcile ourselves to the futility of it all, and embrace our uselessness as a badge of honor. At least that way we can claim that we are engaged in “an activity that refuses to regard itself as instrumental to some larger good.”
This sustained shrug elicited a blast of energetic and mostly negative response from the Times’ online readers.
This is because many Americans, still in thrall to Puritanism, simply cannot think that there can be anything worth doing that doesn't have some practical, uplifting value. It is why Puritanism of every stripe is always anti-human, because the essential note of being human is the capacity to do something just for the sheer fun of it. Hence, the oppressive earnestness of so much critical blather.
Clichés ...
... Notes on Catch. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I think the rapid spread of catchphrases is somehow related to what I like to call bumper-sticker thinking ("If you can dream it, you can do it" — well, no, you can't).
Oh, and I associate "Party on ..." with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, which came out in 1989, three years before Wayne's World.
Oh, and I associate "Party on ..." with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, which came out in 1989, three years before Wayne's World.
Oh, God ...
... something else to complain about: Pollution Is Fireworks' Dirty Little Secret. (Hat tip, Dave Lull)
As Mencken said, a puritan is someone who is afraid that somebody somewhere may be having a good time.
Changing times ...
... for works of reference. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The dictionaries I spend most time with are the Oxford Dictionary of Etymology and Ernest Weekly's Etymological Dictionary. They're fun - and instructive - to peruse.
The dictionaries I spend most time with are the Oxford Dictionary of Etymology and Ernest Weekly's Etymological Dictionary. They're fun - and instructive - to peruse.
Better get started ...
... 10 Books to Read Before You Die. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
I'd rather die than read another Dan Brown book. A mixed bag to say the least.
I'd rather die than read another Dan Brown book. A mixed bag to say the least.
Elite gathering ...
... The Top 100 Liberal Arts Professor Blogs. (Hat tip, Dave Lull)
I intend to pay a visit to these (of course, I already know Ron Silliman's blog).
I intend to pay a visit to these (of course, I already know Ron Silliman's blog).
Happy birthday ...
... to US: Reader’s Almanac: 7/4.
Emerson said that Henry was, with difficulty, sweet. I suspect that he was among the least pleasant of people.
1845: Henry David Thoreau opens the door to his cabin by Walden Pond, beginning an experiment in living close to nature. "I went to the woods because I wished to ... see if I could not learn what it [life] had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." But he doesn't live too close to nature. He walks home regularly to get his clothes washed and to eat meals with his family, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it.
Emerson said that Henry was, with difficulty, sweet. I suspect that he was among the least pleasant of people.
Guess we didn't ...
... always have Paris: Why the Expats Left Paris and Bonjour Tristesse. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
A good start ...
... for the Fourth of July: Save the Press.
The function of newspapers - in theory at least - is to keep the citizenry informed. If that can be done without newspapers - and I suspect it can - the notion that the demise of newspapers will present a threat to democracy is false. Moreover, newspapers throughout history have tended to be partisan. Did the Hearst and Pulitzer papers really serve the nation well? As for "the wire services and other factories of honest fact-gathering," people like Michael Totten and Bill Roggio and others have gathered facts online as well as anybody you can name. In otherw ords, newspapers have never been the wondrous impartial purveyors of fact they like to tout themselves as.
That said, only a fool would cheer their passing. There is plenty of blame to go around. Knight-Ridder, the former chain that I once worked for, down-sized for sure, but they never got the point that downsizing was meant to cut waste so resources could be properly allocated. Everything the honchos at K-R did was for one reason and one reason only: to keep the stock price as high as they could get it. Newsroom managers now seem to be imprisoned in some Woodward and Bernstein-invented Brigadoon. Let your paper be run by a bunch of unimaginative philistines and you get what you deserve.
That said, only a fool would cheer their passing. There is plenty of blame to go around. Knight-Ridder, the former chain that I once worked for, down-sized for sure, but they never got the point that downsizing was meant to cut waste so resources could be properly allocated. Everything the honchos at K-R did was for one reason and one reason only: to keep the stock price as high as they could get it. Newsroom managers now seem to be imprisoned in some Woodward and Bernstein-invented Brigadoon. Let your paper be run by a bunch of unimaginative philistines and you get what you deserve.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Forget school daze ...
... how about Digital Daze. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Given the immense amounts of crap I've seen issued by university presses, this seems disingenuous at best.
“We’re afraid that people are going to forget that there’s a difference between publishing something and just printing it,” she told me. “You need somebody to separate the wheat from the chaff, because it’s the wheat you want.”
Given the immense amounts of crap I've seen issued by university presses, this seems disingenuous at best.
I yam what I yam ...
... THE TRANSCRIPT: TOM WOLFE + MICHAEL GAZZANIGA. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
When you get up in the morning, you do not think about triangles and squares and these similes that psychologists have been using for the past 100 years.
You think about status. You think about where you are in relation to your peers. You're thinking about your spouse, about your kids, about your boss. Ninety-nine percent of your time is spent thinking about other people's thoughts about you, their intentions, and all this kind of stuff. So sorting all that out, how we navigate this complex social world, there's going to be a neuroscience to it, and I think it's going to be very powerful.
Well, I don't think about triangles and squares, that's for sure. But I don't think about status, either. In fact, status is something I almost never think about. I certainly don't waste my time thinking about what other people may be thinking about me, if for no other reason than that I doubt anyone else is wasting their time thinking about me. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is listen to the birds outside my window. Then I get up, get dressed, and go to Mass.
Celebrating July 4 ...
... America's Birth Papers at the NYPL. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Also, sorry folks: America's Days Aren't Numbered.
Glenn Reynolds, who also links to Madden;s piece, had some thoughts on the subject a couple of years ago: We're All Soldiers of Fortune Now.
Meaning is intentional. So apocalypse is in the eye of the beholder. I don't see it myself.
Also, sorry folks: America's Days Aren't Numbered.
Glenn Reynolds, who also links to Madden;s piece, had some thoughts on the subject a couple of years ago: We're All Soldiers of Fortune Now.
Back in the 1990s, it was the Soldier of Fortune crowd that was preparing for some sort of apocalyptic scenario. Back then, the Democrats were in power, and much of the apocalypticism we heard was from the right. Now, with the Republicans in power over the past six years, the apocalypticism has shifted leftward. A quick perusal of Amazon demonstrates this: Where once people on the right were worried about the shock troops of the socialist New World Order or the breakup of America into racial enclaves, now it seems like it's mostly lefties worrying about self-reliance in the face of collapsing unsustainable technology, and the dangers of suburban extinction in the face of high oil prices. As with some of the righty books from the 1990s, there's a curious push-pull here: Though these are warnings of catastrophes to come, there's a sense that to some extent those catastrophes involve society getting what it deserves for its sinful ways, perhaps coupled with an opportunity for purification in the wake of the crisis -- with the virtuously prepared having the upper hand, of course.
Meaning is intentional. So apocalypse is in the eye of the beholder. I don't see it myself.
A look at the '50s ...
... When we learnt how much we wanted to live. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Not to be picky, but the first of the Kinsey reports dates to 1948.
Not to be picky, but the first of the Kinsey reports dates to 1948.
Snip, snip ...
... LA Times to cut 250 jobs, including 150 news jobs.
Is this guy in denial, or what?
"The number one reason that people cancel the L.A. Times is, they tell us, they don't have enough time to read the paper that we give them every day," Stanton said. "We're going to be more picky about the stories we choose to write long and a lot more picky about the ones we write shorter."
Is this guy in denial, or what?
A dandy response ...
... On Literary Tone.
Too true.
... those who can sense literary tone take it for granted while those who can't simply flail about in a sea of misunderstanding.
Too true.
I think I'll pass ...
... but if it's the sort of thing you like, go for it: Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who fails to indicate if he has opted for one or not.)
Update: Dave, who declares himself thus far untattooed, sends along: The Modified Librarian.
Update: Dave, who declares himself thus far untattooed, sends along: The Modified Librarian.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
This is the sort of thing ...
... you usually see denounced on the editorial page: Passages to India: A Paper’s Radical Survival Tactic. (Hat tip, Roger Miller.)
Two thirds ...
... of a conversation with Charles Taylor. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The New Atheism and the Spiritual Landscape of the West.
Religious Belonging in an "Age of Authenticity".
See also Charles Taylor wins 'Japanese Nobel'.
The New Atheism and the Spiritual Landscape of the West.
Religious Belonging in an "Age of Authenticity".
See also Charles Taylor wins 'Japanese Nobel'.
What can I say?
... I'm shocked, of course (ed., yeah, sure): Rumor And Sigh: Entire Sections To Be Cut At The Inky?
The hiring freeze I'm sure of, the rest I know is being rumored.
The hiring freeze I'm sure of, the rest I know is being rumored.
The consolations of poetry ...
... Cloudy Trophies.
And just for good measure: Ode to a Nightingale.
This needs to be read aloud to appreciate fully its pure music.
And just for good measure: Ode to a Nightingale.
This needs to be read aloud to appreciate fully its pure music.
I'm not sure ...
... this something good: The Chief Justice, Dylan and the Disappearing Double Negative.
I like songs as much as the next person, but I don't look to them to articulate ideas exactly, if only because I don't think that much deep thought goes into them. I'd feel better if I knew the Chief Justice appreciated the Brahms symphony I'm listening to (No. 4, with the great Barbirolli and the Vienna Philharmonic). So go ahead: Call me an elitist. Frankly, I'm tired of listening to grizzled boomers going on about their pop music epiphanies.
Oh, noooo ....
... The death of life writing.
This is certainly worth noting:
This, too:
I think what we need are more biographies that are actually portraits, focused on salient details, with no attempt to be exhaustive. That takes judgment, which takes a certain nerve. You can't hide behind a pile of research.
This is certainly worth noting:
Why doesn't anyone say or do something about these acts of biographical cannibalism? According to literary agent Andrew Lownie, who runs the Biographers' Club (a networking organisation for practitioners), it's because the power in publishing companies has decisively passed from the commissioning editors to the sales people. "Their thinking is, if something was once a hit, then let's try it again, even though clearly there's a law of diminishing returns. Anything new or different is looked on with suspicion."
This, too:
What makes it doubly strange is that biography as a genre has a tradition of lively experimentation. Consider John Aubrey's Brief Lives, written in the lee of the civil war. If published today, its zany mix of biography and autobiography, gossip and scholarship would be hailed as wonderfully postmodern. Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians of 1918 is a fine example of the short, pithy group biographies that are making something of a comeback. These are the fresh, wayward models that I ask my students to consider when they begin their own biographical projects.
I think what we need are more biographies that are actually portraits, focused on salient details, with no attempt to be exhaustive. That takes judgment, which takes a certain nerve. You can't hide behind a pile of research.
I remember Noriega ...
... and fondly to boot: Turning the Page on The Disposable Book. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Wonder how it went ...
... Tonight in Manchester: Martin Amis Public Event: Literature And Religion.
I would suggest that Mr. Wood take a look at Yasmina Khadra's The Sirens of Baghdad.
We’re still waiting for the really great Western novel about Islamic terrorism; there’s been quite a few attempts but the actual chapters on the terrorists themselves are weirdly formulaic.’
I would suggest that Mr. Wood take a look at Yasmina Khadra's The Sirens of Baghdad.
A true fan ...
... A.S. Byatt advises: Lie back and think of Europe. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
She's a big snooker enthusiast, too.
She's a big snooker enthusiast, too.
Literary litigation ...
... that seems a nice way to start the day: Literary Agent Sues Sites for Ruining Her Reputation. (Hat tip, Roger Miller.)
I think I linked that list of the worst agents once. Oh, well.
I think I linked that list of the worst agents once. Oh, well.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Persistent little devils ...
... Semicolonoscopy. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I just finished a review, which I believe runs Sunday, in which a sequence of semicolons appears. Am I a contrarian or what?
I just finished a review, which I believe runs Sunday, in which a sequence of semicolons appears. Am I a contrarian or what?
Worth our while ...
... The Life of Trees. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
There is still, I believe, in the yard of the house where I grew up, a maple tree that I raised from seed. In our yard now is a small lace maple that I - given as I am to magical thinking - feel a distinctly personal relationship with. Some years ago I walked through a state park with a guy named Herb Robinson, who was fourth-generation logger. I have never known anyone who knew or loved trees better.
Sounds familiar ...
... Machines Do Stop. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Not all that different from inhabitants of Plato's cave.
Whisked from screen to screen in automated chairs, they’re unable to interact with the world without electronic mediation.
Not all that different from inhabitants of Plato's cave.
Elevated ...
... CONVERSATION IN THE MOUNTAINS - A brief Q&A with John Banville. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The future of newspapers ...
... worrisome.
Indeed.
If you turn out a product whose quality is steadily declining, while simultaneously treating a substantial part of your customer base as somewhere between evil and idiotic, don't be surprised if your business gets worse. I've said for years that hard-news reporting is the killer app for Big Media, but they just don't want to do it. They want to tell people what to think, instead of telling them what's happening.
Indeed.
Sounds good to me ...
... Fish to Profs: Stick to Teaching. (Thanks to Dave Lull, the link is now fixed.)
Whether anyone notices it or not or comments on it or not, the teaching of writing in universities is a disaster. [There is] the conviction on the part of many composition teachers that what they are really teaching is some form of social justice, and that the teaching of writing ... takes a back seat. And in fact in many classrooms the teaching of writing as a craft as something that has rules with appropriate decorums ... is in fact demonized as an indication of the hegemony of the powers that be. This happens over and over again in classrooms and it’s an absolute disaster.
In the brief stint I had, many decades ago, teaching freshman composition, the first thing I noticed was that students were afraid to write. You'd assign a topic that they knew little about and had thought even less about, and they just didn't know what to do. On the other hand, they had plenty of things on their minds, things they would have liked to write about had they known how. So one day I told them I wasn't going to assign any specific topics anymore. I just wanted each of them to write me a letter about something that was on their minds, something they thought I should know about, or that I might find interesting. Or maybe a complaint they wanted to get off their chests.
That assignment proved a great success. I sat down with each of them privately and went over what they had written, showing them how it could be improved - basically doing what any good editor does. The upshot was that they began to find writing interesting. The realized they could do it, and that they could get better at it. For what it's worth - and this is as anecdotal as it gets - a former colleague told me years later that all of the students in my two classes went on to demonstrate superior writing skills.
That assignment proved a great success. I sat down with each of them privately and went over what they had written, showing them how it could be improved - basically doing what any good editor does. The upshot was that they began to find writing interesting. The realized they could do it, and that they could get better at it. For what it's worth - and this is as anecdotal as it gets - a former colleague told me years later that all of the students in my two classes went on to demonstrate superior writing skills.
Paternity denied ...
... ... I am not the father of atheism. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Please, please, please read the comments.
Please, please, please read the comments.
Philly poets
A New York-based online magazine called FANZINE has started a new series about poetry communities, and the first installment is on Philadelphia: the poets of PhillySound. The introduction is a nice piece by CAConrad about creativity, living in the city, and down-with-elitism-in-the-arts. (Yes!) Poems by Conrad and 10 other poets are featured.
A prophecy ...
... in process of fulfillment: Psychiatric services in Britain are being destroyed by an apparatchik class. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
In 1939, W.H. Auden noted that "the picture of the State as a strata of ruled and ruling classes is ceasing to be altogether adequate; it is becoming more and more, the united professional politicians and bureaucrats versus the disunited rest."
... patients must see an assortment of "mental health workers", of varying levels of intelligence, education and commitment. While the changes in the service have been brought about in the name of "Person-centred services" (what, one wonders, were they before?), even in very small matters the wishes of patients are disregarded and dismissed with lordly indifference. For example, it has been established over and over again that patients would like to be known as patients rather than clients or "service-users". But the latter terms are used, because the former would imply the necessity of medical rather than bureaucratic leadership.
In 1939, W.H. Auden noted that "the picture of the State as a strata of ruled and ruling classes is ceasing to be altogether adequate; it is becoming more and more, the united professional politicians and bureaucrats versus the disunited rest."
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