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.
“we think dirt is dirty…”…my poem
“we tend to be messy…”
be a philosopher, sooner or later
a gentleman in Moscow did it
chat with a chippie?…my poem
different lives…
“way up there,” that bird…my poem
her pacific view
The Brothers…Civil War storytelling
Jan Kovarik tells the story
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.
Scaramouche…boy gets girl…book review
Rafael Sabatini at his romantic best
Saint Joan, by Bernard Shaw…book review
she didn’t understand…
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
The Paris Wife…book review
Hemingway wasn’t really a nice fella…
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.
A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World (book review)
William Bernstein forgets the inequality bit…
Book review: War and Peace, Second Epilogue
…something different: Tolstoy’s epilogue on history…
-30- The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper
bad news about the news (book review)
The Zookeeper’s Wife (book review)
“…Killers passed them daily…”—by Diane Ackerman
For All the Tea in China (book review)
Sarah Rose brews the whole ugly story
How the Irish Became White (book review)
another slice of American history by Noel Ignatiev
American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle…
Colin Woodard makes it easier to understand…(book review)
Book review: Thieves in the Night
Arthur Koestler’s story of Galilee, before Israel…
We Were Soldiers Once…and Young
…too much death (book review)
An Empire on the Edge (book review)
The British wanted to win the Revolutionary War, but they didn’t try real hard…
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.
Don’t make resolutions…do something good
Make it count in the new year
“A man’s job”…a Christmas poem
a boy with his father’s axe…
“Answer not a fool…”
you can do better
“…by being anxious…”…some wisdom (Luke 12:25)
go with something else…
“…thinking about the wrong future…”…“Think again,” my poem
squeeze joy into your eyes
Dangerous Liaisons…not a delight (movie review)
a masquerade of amour
“…a word spoken in due season…”…Proverbs 15:23
look for this word
“…she doesn’t see the sidewalk…”… “Taking a walk,” my poem
She’s learning what to do…
Darkest Hour…Gary Oldman is Churchill
the war in 1940…movie review
A labor in learning…”Learning,” my poem
up close and personal