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 →
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 →
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 →
[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 →
[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 →
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 →
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 →
…I think it should be this one by Jay Parini. I’ve read quite a few, and Jay Parini’s is the only one that seems to capture the Frost I sense from Frost’s poetry and his other writings. Plus, Parini’s book … Continue reading →
…in the Bronx.* And it’s still standing, although it’s been relocated a few hundred feet, and a little park built around it. At the time Poe moved there, the Bronx was not a city. His young wife was dying of … Continue reading →
No, the poet Robert Frost didn’t write anything about the believers versus the deniers of anthropogenic global warming. After all, he died in 1963. When I started this blog (lo about nine long years ago!), I had some idea of … Continue reading →
When I was young I came across this book of courtroom speeches by Clarence Darrow. Although I was only about eleven years old it enthralled me, and I think it was one of the reasons I ended up going to … Continue reading →
Leonard Cohen is a songwriter, and a very successful one at that. But he was a poet first. He’s old, too—if 79 can be called “old” these days. Accordingly, the style and content of his songs have changed over the … Continue reading →