What’s happening in this photo? Actually, it’s a photo of me, walking in the woods on a chilly day in early spring—that’s why I’m wearing a fairly bulky jacket. The place? The grounds of the Robert Frost Farm in Derry, … Continue reading →
I once tried to read Harold Bloom’s book The Western Canon, in which he recommends a list of books that a person should read if he/she wants to be truly literate and well-informed in the tradition of Western civilization. Tried, … Continue reading →
[The first part of this series on literary leftists can be found here. The third part can be found here.] The Spanish Civil War was famous for many things, including attracting the participation of some of the most well-known literary … Continue reading →
Yes, indeed, I am that old–old enough to remember when Veterans’ Day was Armistice Day. The change occurred in 1954, when I was very small, in order to accommodate World War II. Since then the original name has largely fallen … Continue reading →
I try my best to pay attention to grammar and spelling, helped out by the always-handy Spellcheck (shh–don’t tell anyone, but I’m not the world’s best speller, unaided). But as Harriet Miers before me discovered, no doubt to her chagrin, … Continue reading →
I think he should have been a blogger. Oh, I don’t mean he shouldn’t have written his novels. I’m referring only to the last year or two of his life, when he became very politically active as a result of … Continue reading →
I’ve referred to the swirl of criticism around the Miers nomination as a “feeding frenzy” a number of times (for example, here). Like many other metaphors, it’s become less colorful through overuse: “feeding frenzy” has come to be a sort … Continue reading →
Some of you who’ve read this blog for a while may recall that I like poetry, and that as a child my school assignments included memorizing a lot of poetry. And so it is that often when I’m thinking about … Continue reading →
First off, I must confess that I like his early plays–or at least I did when I saw them, many moons ago. “The Birthday Party” was especially fine, as I recall, and I enjoyed the original Broadway production of “The … Continue reading →
Dymphna at Gates of Vienna has posted a very personal and utterly heartrending essay on the loss of her daughter. It’s couched as a letter to Cindy Sheehan from one child-bereaved mother to another, and demonstrates great compassion. I urge … Continue reading →
I’ve mentioned quite a few times that I’m a long-time reader of the New Yorker. That’s “long-time” as in long-time—my estimate is close to forty years or so. I still get the magazine delivered to my home, and I still … Continue reading →
A lot of people think George Orwell is special. I’m one of them. I first read Orwell’s books Animal Farm and 1984 when I was about twelve years old. The latter was good for many nightmares–I don’t recommend giving the … Continue reading →