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.
Scaramouche…boy gets girl…book review
Rafael Sabatini at his romantic best
it’s the not knowing…Anne Lamott quote
it’s okay to not know
“a wild portal…”…“Passage,” my poem
a new imagination…
The snow, its vagrant hues…“Purely,” my poem
so white, so grey…
the kid is talking, listen up!…“Words,” my poem
he’s in full voice
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.
Twice-Told Tales by Hawthorne (book review)
…baubles of memory
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis (book review)
by Jared Diamond…frank and frightening
1491 by Charles Mann (book review)
…lost American legacies
The Last European War (book review)
it’s by John Lukacs, dig in…
Go Down Together…Bonnie and Clyde (book review)
they were violent criminals
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 allows 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.
Poets talk about poetry
…a red hot bucket of love…
Book review: The Bridges of Madison County
If you’re looking for highly stoked eroticism and high-rolling lives that throw off sparks when they touch, look elsewhere. Otherwise, check out my review.
Book review: Shantung Compound
They didn’t care much about each other…
A new poem about the right thing…
We feel old passion to stand up and stand fast,..
Book review: Shawshank Redemption
A world I do not want to know…