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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.
“ciel blanc,”…my poem
kissing the night
Collected Poems of C. K. Williams…book review
dusty and dull
“The ghoulies…”…my poem
they have no name…
Sad underwear…book review
it’ll make you laugh
“a bouquet of words…”…“taste,” my poem
savor, feast
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.
old books, souvenirs of thought…my poem
live in the past
The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson’s version
So much believable detail
Jekyll and Hyde, you think you know the story
…but try it again, Jekyll really doesn’t measure up…
“…midst all these books.”
one view of the sweet life…
The Girl at the Lion d’Or…book review
Sebastian Faulks is tenaciously literate, richly Gallic…
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.
Fire in the Lake (book review)
you should have read it in 1972…
Book review: Mila 18
horrific truth by Leon Uris
Book review: The Map of Knowledge
a slo-mo version of Fahrenheit 451, by Violet Moller
Book review: The Comanche Empire
the other story of the American West…
Book review: Lafayette by Harlow Unger
He was a great man. Also rich and lucky.
Book review: Saint Joan
by George Bernard Shaw
Oops, Columbus didn’t “discover” America
…but he got close…
Book review: Who Built America?
…including people who got their hands dirty
Book review: John Eliot: The Man Who Loved The Indians
Entertaining, convenient biography by Carleton Beals
Book review: John Eliot: “Apostle to the Indians”
…a righteous man of his time
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.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie…book review
growing up is hard to do
the TV screen won’t stop talking…my poem
I don’t watch TV
News of the World…movie review
not your ordinary Tom Hanks movie
time is different near the sea
John Steinbeck sez so…
goodness, a small flame…
and you are its keeper
“…Bobby always knows…”…“bearly,” my poem
finding the way
Dinner Rush…movie review
real suspense
Atonement…book review
Ian McEwan tells a big story
looking for butterflies…Jacqueline Woodson quote
some things never die…
Red Brethren (book review)
David Silverman on “race” in early America