Kipling again
When I was in junior high we had to memorize a lot of poetry. One poem was Kipling’s old chestnut (which was not quite as old at the time as it is now, but then again, neither was I) “If.” … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Poetry
ISIS, the rough beast
Read this, and think of ISIS: THE SECOND COMING (W.B Yeats) Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed … Continue reading →
Peace Prize in our time
That Nobel Peace Prize for Obama certainly was premature, wasn’t it? Since he has become president, it’s been a challenge to name a part of the world that has not gotten worse rather than better. Turns out that America as … Continue reading →
“My ordinary state of mind is very much like the waiting room at the DMV”…
…says Leonard Cohen. A likely story. If Cohen’s mind is like the DMV, it’s not like any DMV I’ve ever been to. Cohen’s interview is a fascinating reflection on creativity and work: Before I can discard the verse, I have … Continue reading →
Sword, sorcery, and The Dykes
Richard Fernandez has written another great great article. Probably one of his best, and that’s saying something. Someone in the comments section there made reference to this 1902 Kipling poem which I’d never even seen before. I was impressed enough … Continue reading →
Read Richard Fernandez on the debacle that is the Obama administration
Read it, but have a good stiff drink by your side. And lock up all sharp objects. Because if you’re not already profoundly depressed, his essay will depress you. I can’t quarrel with what he writes; it’s what I would … Continue reading →
Newarks’ new mayor and the Newark old guard: what’s in a name?
This NY Times article is about the contest by which Newark, New Jersey elected its new mayor, Councilman Ras Baraka, who according to the Times is “the fiery scion of a militant poet.” The contest—between two black Democrats—was both expensive … Continue reading →
Spring’s coming!
Yes, I know that technically spring’s been here for quite a while. But northern climes don’t get to see it so quickly. In 1913, about a hundred years ago, Robert Frost wrote about the transition of the seasons in one … Continue reading →
Acquainted with the White
[NOTE: Gerard Vanderleun recycled an old post of his at American Digest, an ode to the rainy season in Seattle. Which reminds me that, way back when, I wrote an answering poem—only mine was an ode to snow season in … Continue reading →
More Frostian thoughts: on being alive in difficult times
[Bumped up.] I’ve been reading another book about Robert Frost, and I keep coming across fascinating tidbits. For example, the following is taken from a letter Frost wrote to the Amherst student newspaper in 1935, and it gives some perspective: … Continue reading →
Robert Frost on idealists
The following is from a speech Robert Frost gave at Bread Loaf on July 4, 1960 (from the book Robert Frost: A Living Voice, edited by Reginald L. Cook), where he’s describing an encounter with a Boston cab driver: Now … Continue reading →
Robert Frost: a living voice
The following passage is from the book Robert Frost: A Living Voice, edited by Reginald L. Cook. It’s from a talk Frost gave at Bread Loaf in July 27, 1960, when he was in his 80s. He starts by describing … Continue reading →