We all know what McDonald’s is and for the most part we’re probably in agreement about what it means. For the purpose of this blog entry, I’m interested primarily in the symbol (to the symbol by way of the smell).
McDonald’s, Marfa & the Meaning of Life Read More »
In the summer of 2006, Jesse Ball sat down to write a novel. Ball kept a constant vigil; he remained with his instruments, more like a performer than a novelist, a pianist absorbed in the madness of his music, blending themes, changing his intonation, but never letting the line break or fall away.
The Muse Won’t Quit Read More »
“Church Going” is an atheist’s poem, an ironic atheist’s poem, and a very good one.
Come A Little Bit Closer Now Baby: Philip Larkin’s “Church Going” Read More »
Habit of mind: when I walk or snowshoe in the falling snow, or watch it descend from inside, lines from snow poems I love come to me. Inevitably, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The Snowstorm”––first line tells us, the storm is “Announced by all the trumpets of the sky”.
Come A Little Bit Closer Now Baby: Longfellow’s “Snow-Flakes” Read More »
In just a couple of weeks, thousands from the literary world will descend upon hotels, bookstores, and eateries in Washington, D.C. for the annual conference of The Association of Writers & Writing Programs.
AWP, For the Very First Time Read More »
To the extent that music was part of my childhood, I grew up predominantly on a mismatched diet of twelfth-century lute music (mom’s) and dueling banjos (dad’s).
Top 40 Sweet Cheeks: Cee-Lo, Gwyneth, Dap-dippin’ & the Motown Legacy Read More »
In early winter, the grass in North America still retains a cast of its autumn green, but after a few nights of deep freeze have killed the last of the ticks and fleas, the green turns greenish-grey. It’s then I begin remembering Thomas Hardy’s moving, highly-compressed and resonant sixteen-liner, “Neutral Tones.”
Come A Little Bit Closer Now Baby: Thomas Hardy’s “Neutral Tones” Read More »
Reading a writer’s posthumous diary is a guilty undertaking—absorbing words I was never meant to see, glimpsing the private corners of a mind I was never meant to explore.
Mere Sensibilities Read More »
We have all participated in the discussion about the new ways of reading, the end of the book, the new literacy, etc., etc., ad infinitum. And things are certainly changing.
Headlines cycling. War, officially-forgotten diseases, hot-shot bailouts, shameless status updating, neglected continents, orchestral indie pop grandeur, absurd year-end best-of lists.
As Beautiful as the Chance Encounter of a Coffee Mug and a Coaster on a Coffee Table Read More »
