Poetry and insights
I’m in love with words, and I love to use the right words to create poems that have clarity and character. I think of my work as “literal poetry.” I don’t put my pen down until I’ve said exactly what I feel, exactly what I mean to say, so that you, as the reader or listener, will have no doubt about it. I want to write poems that don’t need to be explained—what you see is what it is. I want to write poems that express deep human emotions, and very thoughtful observations, and very precise meanings. I am a poet, a writer, a teacher, a moralist, a historian and an unflinching student of human nature. I think a lot. I strive to express truth and give context—both rational and emotional—to reality. I think words can be pictures, and lovely songs, and bodacious scents, and private flavors, and early morning caresses that wake each part of me, one at a time. I know some of those words, and, from time to time, I write some of them.
“magic still unknown…”…“Void,” my poem
the ancients saw such sky
“time would ease me…”…Sarah Orne Jewett
straight from the heart
“the grass, in its millions…”…my poem
the endless tunes of the sward
The Book of Days…part lii
nature poems about the dawn’s early light…
Victory…Joseph Conrad is good…book review
your life is good…
Book Reviews and insights
Reading is part of my life. Old books are companions—they have a palpable essence that will never be duplicated in an eBook reader. I can live with books, inter librorum copias. I don’t read too many novels, although I’m partial to 19th century American and English writers like Dickens and Hawthorne and O. Henry. I’m happy when I’m reading aloud. I wish that I may live long enough to read at least most of the books in my library.
“see the new possible…”…“caper,” my poem
those silent promises
The Stranger/L’Etranger…book review
not the best of Camus
The Homesman…book review
not likable or believable…
singing the easy tunes…“la cage,” my poem
I think I had a thought…
American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century…book review
relentless rhyming, drum beat rhythms…
Historical insights
I think it’s difficult to be a sensitive and sensible human being without some knowledge of history and its enduring elements. An insufficient understanding of history is an impediment to decent participation in human society. I am particularly intrigued by the systematic methods of the French Annalistes to examine the deep structures (longues durées) of history. Awareness and understanding of history allow us to create and sustain a mindful context for our past and present adventures.
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Politics: thoughts and insights
Yelling isn’t my style. I am a committed and, I think, well-informed liberal progressive. It’s my intention to avoid presenting any political commentaries that are doctrinaire, abusive, deliberately hateful or contrary to “…a decent respect to the opinions of mankind…” Maybe you’ll recognize those words from the Declaration of Independence. I respect the value and the necessity of dedicated support for the preservation of the public good. I’m willing to offer my considerations of what constitutes the public good.
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Tidbits
Occasional items that tickle your funny bone, or point your mind in a new direction, or invite you to stop for a moment and listen to what your heart is telling you.
Scent of a Woman (movie review)
an endearing gift…and Pacino’s only Oscar
The African Queen, a love story…movie review
Bogart and Hepburn, don’t you love ‘em?
Chipmunk talk…
…take your time…
Conspiracy…movie review
…a flawless portrayal of naked evil…
The Self-Made Man in America (book review)
Prof. Irvin Wyllie exposes the myth
What It Is Like to Go to War (book review)
Karl Marlantes tells the ugly story
“I am the highway and a peregrine…”
much love in The Bridges of Madison County
“The beginning is always today.” (quote, Mary Shelley)
so get started…
Amusing Ourselves to Death (book review)
Neil Postman nailed it 35 years ago
a tree for Becky…”A man’s job,” my poem
some Yuletide cheer…