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 need both, remembering and forgetting…
The wisdom of the Cherokees
the TV screen won’t stop talking…my poem
I don’t watch TV
“lovers will caress such words…”…“such as…”, my poem
lips that kiss the tune
“does she sing in silence…”…“adoro,” my poem
speaking of angels
time is different near the sea
John Steinbeck sez so…
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.
The Sixth Extinction…book review
Elizabeth Kolbert talks about the other global horror…
The “pack horse librarians”…
…before there were bookmobiles…
The Demon of Unrest…book review
Erik Larson tells the whole story of Ft. Sumter
changing the world into words…Bill Gass said it
a kind of alchemy
Romantic historical fiction…don’t you love it?
per Rafael Sabatini, no less…
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.
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…
An Empire on the Edge (book review)
The British wanted to win the Revolutionary War, but they didn’t try real hard…
No one remembers “The Six Grandfathers”
…except the Lakota Sioux
Fire in the Lake (book review)
you should have read it in 1972…
On the Beach by Nevil Shute (book review)
It isn’t out of date…
Book review: The Lost History of Stars
Dave Boling’s delicate story about a girl in a brutal war
Book review: Address Unknown
A friendship corrupted by Nazi hatred before WWII…
Book review: Mila 18
horrific truth by Leon Uris
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 prayers of the millions…”…John Steinbeck’s view
what does God listen to?
Old Henry…a movie review
speaking of Billy the Kid
“…the boy climbs to me…”…“A man’s job,” my poem
making a Christmas
Sarah Orne Jewett: Novels and Stories…book review
…an old fisherman’s tears…
Roosters scream to start the day…
why is that?
Atonement…movie and book review
my life is my penance
“truth lies open for all…”
Seneca the Younger said it
humans share food, with people they like
“Grace,” my poem
Night by Elie Wiesel…book review
his first story about the camps
“duchess with a bird”…my poem
her new universe…