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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.
Have you “…been made various…”?
George Eliot teaches us…(quote)
Golden Tales of New England…book review
Some feel-good stories of the 19th century…
“I know remembrance…”…“knowing,” my poem
what is the unknown?
The Greatest Sentence Ever Written…book review
it didn’t come easy
“step by step,” the elusive rhyme…my poem
write it down
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.
learning to read?…no problem
start writing anyway…
Traveling Light…book review
…poems by David Wagoner, yum!
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie…book review
growing up is hard to do
The Bright Ages (book review)
A New History of Medieval Europe
Washington Square…book review
Henry James, less than meets the eye
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.
Book review: A Cold Welcome
The culprit was global cooling, 500 years ago…
Book review: The Myths of Tet
How people get killed by lies…
Book review: Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell
Richard Sharpe is all Hollywood bravery, but it was butcher’s work done at the battle…
Book review: The Proud Tower
Typical Tuchman tour de force. It’s a lot more than a history book.
Book review: “The Gentle Boy”
The Puritans had a dark side…
Book review: All The President’s Men
It’s a corker, but you won’t have to read it twice…
Book review: American Colonies
So many and so much came before the Pilgrims…
Book review: Shantung Compound
They didn’t care much about each other…
A poet is a “maker”
…and it doesn’t have to rhyme…
Book review: American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence
…it didn’t start the Revolution.
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.
Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics…book review
Dan Harris says “even one minute counts”
no kicking or biting…says Seneca
try talking it out…
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie…movie review
Maggie Smith, nonstop…
Winesburg, Ohio…book review
it beats the Spoon River stuff…
Range: Why Generalists Triumph…book review
David Epstein says it’s OK to experiment
keep a watchful eye…and resist
do not let them go gentle…
friends can touch…my poem
“Touch,” brief moments…
Tabula Rasa: Volume 1…book review
John McPhee cleared the decks
Stonehenge…the stones know…my poem
fingers of the gods
Are you working on the main thing?
maybe Michelangelo got distracted…