I went apple-picking this weekend. It’s easy to do—just drive about 15 minutes, go to the pick-your-own orchard, buy one of their little bags, walk out on a lovely fall day to where the trees are, and begin. The trees … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is a post that originally appeared in 2008. I came across it today while responding to a comment, and I thought it worth repeating.] As a child who loved poetry, I memorized it almost without intending to. Just … Continue reading →
It’s a mountain in Alaska that’s been known as McKinley for about 100 years. Obama has decided to rename it with its native American name. This has made Alaskans happy and Ohioans furious, and although I don’t have a dog … Continue reading →
Despite the title of this post it’s August now, not July. And a lovely August it is. The other day I was walking along the street in a beach town in New England on a sunny day. It’s the sort … Continue reading →
[NOTE: An exchange I had with commenter “Cornflour” on the Robert Conquest thread (here and here) reminded me of a previous post from about two years ago, one that I think it appropriate and interesting to revisit with some added … Continue reading →
I’m not a Whitman fan (no, that’s not one of the interesting facts), although I like some of his poems. But looking at his Wiki entry I noticed the following items, which somehow seemed worth mentioning: When Whitman was 6 … Continue reading →
…in the English-speaking world—and perhaps the world as a whole—has quite a backstory: Frye, who was living in Baltimore at the time, wrote the poem in 1932. She had never written any poetry, but the plight of a young German … Continue reading →
Yesterday I had an ant infestation, mostly those large ones that can move very fast, although there were a couple of teeny tiny ones as well. They came out of nowhere—I couldn’t see where they were entering—and seemed evenly distributed … Continue reading →
During a 1976 interview, author and poet James Dickey said this about poets and celebrities pronouncing on politics: INTERVIEWER Some of your detractors have mentioned the fact that they felt that you should use your influence, your place in the … Continue reading →
[Part I here.] Whatever was I talking about when I said that the lyrics of “Walk Away, Renee” were poetry? You might think the lyrics aren’t so special; just the usual rock pap. But bear with me and see whether … Continue reading →
Recently I wrote a post that featured the Yeats poem “The Second Coming.” Today I decided to look up more about the poem’s background, and came up with this: Modernists read the poem as a dirge for the decline of … Continue reading →
THE SECOND COMING William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) 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 tide is loosed, and … Continue reading →