A few words on David James Duncan
Today I finished the third book in the trilogy of David James Duncan’s major works: River Teeth. The other two books are The River Why and The Brothers K, both of which I cannot possibly recommend...
View ArticleTime and Timelessness: Reading Proust from Start to Finish, #1
After staring down Anna Karenina last year I crested a daunting hill and looked down into the valley on the far side. The summit was the overbearing weight and patience needed to tackle the long novel....
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John Ashbery, “Variant”
Sometimes a word will start it, like Hands and feet, sun and gloves. The way Is fraught with danger, you say, and I Notice the word “fraught” as you are telling Me about huge secret valleys some...
View ArticleI Literally Feel a Rant Coming On
People. Stop using the word “literally” all the time. Just stop. It literally makes me want to hit my head with a brick. If you can’t be trusted to use the word properly then I, as a duly appointed...
View ArticleTed Hughes, “Wodwo”
What am I? Nosing here, turning leaves over Following a faint stain on the air to the river’s edge I enter water. Who am I to split The glassy grain of water looking upward I see the bed Of the river...
View ArticleElizabeth Bishop, “Large Bad Picture”
Remembering the Strait of Belle Isle or some northerly harbor of Labrador, before he became a schoolteacher a great-uncle painted a big picture. Receding for miles on either side into a flushed, still...
View ArticleIndo-European Root of the Day: Wild
I’ve been seeing and hearing the word wild a lot lately. Lately in the news we’ve heard the story of Abby Sunderland, the 16-year-old adventurer who attempted to sail solo around the world only to be...
View ArticleBlackberries
Standing at the fruit and veggies stand with Laura waiting for our sweet corn to be shucked and bagged up, I noticed the little cartons of fat, ripe blackberries just waiting for some lucky soul to eat...
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