See also: One never knows, do one?
Monday, March 14, 2011
Loose sallies of the mind ...
... Montaigne's Moment. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Montaigne does often state his considered view, but rarely without suggesting, explicitly or otherwise, that maybe he is wrong. In this regard, writing is far removed from that of the most popular bloggers and columnists, who are usually sure that they are right.
Is Gottlieb sure about that, I wonder, because he's thoroughly familiar with all "the most popular bloggers and columnists"? Or is he just passing along here-say? (By the way, Donald Frame's classic biography remains an excellent introduction to Montaigne's life and work.)
Something I came upon ...
... Beyond Jekyll and Hyde.
I reviewed Rivers Last Longer in The Inquirer, but hadn't seen this review -- which is very good -- until now. Quite a fascinating book.
Thought for the day ...
What passes for optimism is most often the effect of an intellectual error.- Raymond Aron, born on this date in 1905
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Something cheering ...
... I linked to this the other day and Bryan links to it today: Frank the Master. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
In case you wondered ...
... How to tackle the unknowns in our world. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Dave also sends along this: The Great Wave.
Dave also sends along this: The Great Wave.
And another: The Great Wave.
Song of herself ...
... Maxine Hong Kingston’s Life in Verse. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
It’s generally not a good idea to concentrate on “being the Poet” rather than “writing some poems.” Because the more one thinks about “being the Poet,” the more one tends to imagine oneself gazing with piercing intelligence into the middle distance, radiating a uniquely desirable combination of wisdom and quiet humor while the wind from the sea sweeps back one’s cloak to reveal a figure slim yet powerful — a silhouette etched against the sunset’s dwindling bonfire, as . . . .
Thought for the day ...
For poetry there exists neither large countries nor small. Its domain is in the heart of all men.- Giorgos Seferis, born on this date in 1900
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Maybe ...
... The 10 best American poems. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
I perceive I have not really understood any thing, not a single
object, and that no man ever can,
Nature here in sight of the sea taking advantage of me to dart upon
me and sting me,
Because I have dared to open my mouth to sing at all.
I know so well how that feels. To have a family to support and literary ambitions and to know that at present you are going nowhere and may be a fake.
"Song of Myself" is certainly an important poem, but it is hardly Whitman's best. I would give that title to something out of the "Sea Drift" section of Leaves of Grass. My own choice would ptobably be "As I Ebb'd With the Ocean of Life," which meant so much to me when I was in my moorless 30s. You don't get better poetry than this:
O baffled, balk'd, bent to the very earth,
Oppress'd with myself that I have dared to open my mouth,
Aware now that amid all that blab whose echoes recoil upon me I have
not once had the least idea who or what I am,
But that before all my arrogant poems the real
Me stands yet untouch'd, untold, altogether unreach'd,
Withdrawn far, mocking me with mock-congratulatory signs and bows,
With peals of distant ironical laughter at every word I have written,
Pointing in silence to these songs, and then to the sand beneath.
I perceive I have not really understood any thing, not a single
object, and that no man ever can,
Nature here in sight of the sea taking advantage of me to dart upon
me and sting me,
Because I have dared to open my mouth to sing at all.
I know so well how that feels. To have a family to support and literary ambitions and to know that at present you are going nowhere and may be a fake.
Regarding Frost's "Directive," see 'Hard to Understand, but Easy to Love.' (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
A mystery ...
... Bohuslav Martinu was one of the great composers of the last century (back in the '70s I gave a lecture about him at Haverford College -- those were my wandering scholar years. Yet one doesn't hear his music as often as one ought. Here's a fine performance of the scherzo from his fourth symphony. Also, check out the Berlin Philharmonic website. Methinks I may just sign up for the Digital Concert Hall. Is the Philadelphia Orchestra aware of this? Probably not. They haven't been plugged in to anything since Ormandy died.
The File
Timothy Garton Ash occupies an important place beside the late Tony Judt on a pedestal of contemporary European historians who write using clear, accessible prose. That, of course, is not t0 slight their analysis - because in both cases, the analysis is first-rate.
This point was brought home over the past few weeks as I plowed through Garton Ash's The File. Wow, talk about a great book. Conceived as a sort of 'personal history,' Garton Ash charts his return to what was once East Germany, where he sets out to research...himself. That is: the version of himself revealed through his secret (and until recently classified) Stasi files.
I must say, I was deeply affected by the humanity and clairvoyance of Garton Ash's reflections. In this sense, my response was reminiscent of the feelings I experienced after watching The Lives of Others - which, rather like The File, evokes a perverse, incongruous mixture of profanity, absurdity, and, not least, horror.
Reality catches up ...
... with fiction: Rad Decision.
The worst nuclear problem Japan may be facing is a "Station Blackout" in a Boiling Water Reactor. The key event in James Aach's Rad Decision is precisely that.
Thought for the day ...
Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.- Jack Kerouac, born on this date in 1922
I wrote something about Jack shortly before I retired: Jack Kerouac's sound of America.
Kass Mencher, my friend Eric Mencher's wife, is the only person I know who read this when it was first published and realized that it was my way of signaling that I was about to retire. But Kass is a very observant person.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Let us end the day ...
... on a profound note: Meditation at Pescadero.
Readers of this blog may have noticed that Art and I sometimes disagree. But let me tell you, folks,
Art is one one the most authentic people it has ever been my privilege to encounter. And he's a damn good poet.
My, my ..
... The Philadelphia Inquirer-Examiner.
A former colleague just wrote to ask if I was behind this. I categorically deny any connection. I blame Carlin Romano (just kidding).
I didn't ...
... at least I missed him on What's My Line?: Am I the Last Guy in the World to Know This?
And the winners are ...
... The National Book Critics Circle Announces Award Winners. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day ...
The arts are an even better barometer of what is happening in our world than the stock market or the debates in congress.- Hendrik Willem van Loon, who died on this date in 1944
Thursday, March 10, 2011
No class ...
... Bad in my mouth, on the page: Donald Hall, Sarah Palin, and WaPo.
Petri appears to be one of those people who only opens her mouth to change feet.
She certainly appears either incapable or unwilling to grasp that the problem was not with her having a caption contest, but with her choice of photo, which was of a person deserving respect, not derision. So let's help: You were making fun of a frail old man, Alex, for no other reason than that he looked frail and old. Most people regard doing such as in terrible taste. Don't hide behind Sarah Palin. Go take a course in remedial manners.
I'm not so sure ...
... A fond farewell to secondhand bookshops. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
As I wrote here more than a decade ago, the business itself has been able to thrive as never before thanks to the internet. The storefront isn't really necessary anymore, but it could be kept as a literary cafe, thereby giving the proprietor more than once source of income (and more work).
Getting personal ...
... What is the history of English poetry?
This personalization of literary history leaves little room for figures below the first rank unless they happen to be women (Hemans and Landon) or provide sturdy support for a star performer (Moore and Hunt). So Walter Savage Landor, who qualifies on none of these counts, thereby loses his place in the history of English poetry. Yet Landor was a brilliant epigrammatist, perhaps the finest of the nineteenth century ...
Mystery ...
... So what does Rob Bell actually say? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Is everyone saved by Jesus or not? Very American.
Well, very Russian, too. Berdyaev and Soloviev were both universalists. And there is a distinct problem with the concept of eternal damnation. For hell to be eternal it would have to be, as it were, coexistent with God himself, whereas Jesus talks about the "everlasting fire," a distinctly temporal phrase. So I think it is safe to infer that hell will last until the end of time -- but no longer.
This week's batch ...
... of TLS Letters: Marko Marulic's Judith, Swift and satire, Dutch wife, and more!
Revival (cont'd.) ...
... The Birds of the Air.
See also this, which I had missed: 1p Book Review: Alice Thomas Ellis – The Inn at the End of the World.
Location, location, location ...
... Quoth the detective. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Poe never actually worked as a detective, but throughout his career as a critic and reviewer, he repeatedly, perhaps obsessively, investigated the distinguished writers and editors of Boston. In the process, he uncovered what he saw as literary crimes and exposed a den of cronyism, imitation, and self-righteousness in the city that fancied itself the “Athens of America.”
See also: Save the Baltimore Poe House.
Pericles and ROTC ...
... Jacques Barzun on Columbia University's ROTC Shame. (I just checked my email and see that Dave also sent me a link to this. Great minds. Also the URL he sent is better.)
See also: My life as an army ROTC cadet and Barnard student. (Also from Dave.)
Thought for the day ...
Eternal life and the invisible world are only to be sought in God. Only within Him do all spirits dwell. He is an abyss of individuality, the only infinite plenitude.- Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, born on this date in 1772
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
How have I managed ...
... to miss this until now: Poetry News in Review.
David Sanders, editor of Poetry News in Review, is the man who blew the whistle on the tasteless WaPo swipe at Donald Hall. Bravo, David.
Fads ...
... Reminds Me of Michael Pollan.
During nearly decades of working for a newspaper I saw more of these come and go than I can even begin to remember. Perhaps my favorite was the oat-bran craze. What I liked about it was the sheer pointlessness of it. After all, if you eat Quaker Oats, you're getting some bran -- that's why they call it "whole oats." On the other hand, bran by itself has no nutritional value whatever, and eating it in quantity can result -- and did -- in some severe cases of constipation. Of course, as Steven notes, it's a good idea to eat healthy food -- stuff that's grown.
Afterlife ...
... C. S. Lewis’s Legacy Lives on, and Not Just Through the Wardrobe. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
In “Mere Christianity,” Lewis writes of Jesus: “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.”This famous passage does not, on a second read, make much sense. After all, could not a great moral teacher have messianic delusions?
Actually, people who are delusional and claim to be God do not tend to advance any great moral teachings, and offhand I can't think of anyone regarded as a great moral teacher -- other than Jesus -- who made such a claim. Jesus' claim was quite extraordinary and most of his moral teachings actually are not.
Sturgeon's Law and more ...
... The mash-up mentality.
Many will argue art has always had imitation, reinvention, and even plagiarism at its heart. Hell, T.S. Eliot said, “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.”
Composer Harold Boatrite thinks that the aim of art is not originality -- which can be achieved simply by doing anything that hasn't already been done -- but rather what he calls "coherent self-expression."
I didn't know what the "Sad Keanu" meme was. So I looked it up and came upon this: Keanu Reeves on His Fame.
The War on Man ...
... aka The War on Fire.
See also what Bryan has to say: Global Warming Now. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The problem, the enemy, the issue is YOU. Your existence is an afront to the dignity of the planet, and anyone who aspires to argue with THAT had better position themselves to do so. Do you wastefully run your WHOLE toaster for half a bagel? You are a dangerous wastrel but if you jet out to Burning Man and dance around a pseudo-pagan celebration of those twin elements of Hell, iron and fire, well, you are on the side of Right and Justice. Carry on.
I definitely agree with his conclusion: "... the planet cycles on regardless. In time, it will make its own decisions about the viability of our troublesome species."
Thought for the day ...
Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it's a letdown, they won't buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.- Mickey Spillane, born on this date in 1918
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Exploration ...
... Becoming Henry Miller: How Brooklyn Fired a Writer’s Imagination. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The indefatigable Maxine ...
... February reading and reviews.
I don't know how she does it. And did I mention that she'a one of the most wonderful people on the planet?
Thank you, Dave ...
... these have made my day:
(Hat tip, Dave Lull, for both.)
Virginia Woolf said Cather "had all the accomplishments of culture without a trace of its excess." After an early career in journalism, she turned herself into an artist; after an early life in smalltown America, she turned herself into a cosmopolitan. She knew the important questions, posing them in compelling plots with vivid characters, assuming the intelligence on the part of her readers to work out the answers for themselves.
I had thought of writing a piece advancing the thesis that Willa Cather is the great American novelist -- which I think is the case. But Epstein has made such a good case, why bother?
Out of book ...
... More Than Machine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
... isn't it precisely when people refuse to get "out of book"—just following orders or playing their role—that we find them least human? Likewise, when we get "out of book," we are at our most human. Think of the difference between the waiter who runs through the usual routine and the one who responds to your order with a witticism. Remaining alive to what is mechanical or original in our own behavior can preserve a sense of human difference.
Probably true ...
... ‘You can no more ‘promote’ a writer to be an editor than you can ‘promote’ a plumber to be a gardener.’
An editor, however, can become a writer, and still function perfectly well as an editor.
An editor, however, can become a writer, and still function perfectly well as an editor.
Waging war ...
... on half measures: Edith Sitwell: Avant Garde Poet, English Genius by Richard Greene – review. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
You can listen here to Sitwell reading one of her most famous poems, "Still Falls the Rain."
Hard to know ...
... ... what to say about this, except that Alexandra Petri deserves all the ridicule she gets: Donald Hall and the Washington Post — not a pretty site. (The WaPo still has editors. right?)
But maybe the best thing is to just let Donald Hall speak for himself:
The other Hitchens ...
... The Rage Against God. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It is false optimism at best that leads atheists to believe that they can remove the heart of a nation's morality and replace it with a platitude like "common decency" without risking a moral collapse.
Just saying ...
... Transmissions from a Lone Planet: Let a thousand concealed handguns bloom.
... the arguments don’t matter as nobody is looking to be persuaded.
Thought for the day ...
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.- Hector Berlioz, who died on this date in 1869.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Who even guessed ...
... let alone knew? Charlie Sheen's dark poetry. (Hat tip, Dave Lull -- who's been on a roll today.)
OK, this is a lit blog ...
... but I am afraid I know whereof she speaks: KATIE GRANJU has gone public.
Vintage review ...
... John O'Hara on Jazzmen. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The trouble with most writing about jazz is that it reads one or more of several ways: as though it had been written with the attitude of a class secretary preparing an obit on a fellow he didn’t know awfully well and never was sure he wanted to know better; or written by a pedant who had rhythm and an ear in spite of himself; or written by Charles Edward (“I knows how to write”) Smith. I don’t know which is worst, but you’ll find all three in this book.
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