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.
“…my final future…”… “now then…” my poem
the carpe diem thing
“We almost always know…”
doing the right thing…
“faintest breaths…”…“another thing,” my poem
they never look up
“a dancing wight”…“Another time,” my poem
no song sublime
The Eye of the Story…book review
essays and reviews by Eudora Welty
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.
Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels…book review
Ian Morris talks energy
T. S. Eliot and “the hollow men”
Less than meets the eye…
The Book of War: 25 Centuries of Great War Writing…book review
the hurt and heroics and degradation
Heart of Darkness…book review
Joseph Conrad’s deep dive
Twilight of the Elites…book review
Our elites are corrupt, they can’t stop themselves…
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.
The Man Who Broke Capitalism (book review)
Jack Welch, all-American what?
Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction (book review)
as they saw it in mid-19th century…
Under Two Flags: The American Navy in the Civil War (book review)
William Fowler describes the politics of North/South navies
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (book review)
an American slave talks…
The Man Who Never Was (book review)
Ewen Montagu tells his story
A History of the People of the United States During Lincoln’s Administration
by John Bach McMaster (book review)
Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army (book review)
lots of men didn’t surrender…
The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire (book review)
Peter Hopkirk tells the old story
The Political Depravity of the Founding Fathers (book review)
the so-called “Founding Fathers”…
The United States in 1800 (book review)
Henry Adams on 19th century people, culture
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.
Losing Earth (book review)
the moral imperative, let’s talk about it…
Will the last monkey cry?
the new reality…
On the Beach by Nevil Shute (book review)
It isn’t out of date…
Book review: The Myths of Tet
How people get killed by lies…
Book review: The American Revolution: A History
The “Founders” were afraid of “democracy”…
Book review: Shantung Compound
They didn’t care much about each other…
Book review: Forced Founders
Woody Holton explains that Virginia’s “Founding Fathers” had patriotism, and some other stuff, on their minds….
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.
Eye of the Needle…desperate but human…movie review
living and dying
The Witches, 1692…book review
a community gone crazy…
“…do not interrupt the music.” Book of Sirach 32:3
music soothes…
her cherub chatter…“and more…” my poem
The elfin miss delights in play…
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
Saint Joan, by Bernard Shaw…book review
she didn’t understand…
Pale Rider, pale horse…movie review
another side of Clint Eastwood
On Chesil Beach…book review
Ian McEwan tells a backstory of love
It’s a novel, stupid…The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand’s talent was writing novels