Friday, June 30, 2017

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Second Editiion, Quatrain CVII

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This is the second of two linked quatrains, the previous being Quatrain CVI, with a similar theme. Second Edition:  Quatrain CVII Bette...
Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Robert Frost's Invitation

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The Pasture I'm going out to clean the pasture spring; I'll only stop to rake the leaves away (And wait to watch the water clea...
19 comments:
Monday, June 26, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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We are most likely to get angry and excited in our opposition to some idea when we ourselves are not quite certain of our own position, an...
8 comments:
Wednesday, June 21, 2017

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Second Edition, Quatrain CVI

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This is the first of several linked quatrains which express the same theme: the pain of human existence. Second Edition:  Quatrain CVI ...
12 comments:
Monday, June 19, 2017

Dylan Thomas's Cat: Do Not Go Peaceable to That Damn Vet

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Do Not Go Peaceable to That Damn Vet Do not go peaceable to that damn vet, A cat can always tell a trip is due, Hide, hide, when your ap...
11 comments:
Saturday, June 17, 2017

Ryokan's Irony?

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Done begging in a rundown village, I make my way home past green boulders. Late sun hides behind western peaks; pale moonlight shines on...
13 comments:
Wednesday, June 14, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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"If real people could cohabit with the creatures of their imagination--say, in a novel--then what sort of children would be the frui...
19 comments:
Sunday, June 11, 2017

Willa Cather: Youth and the Bright Medusa, Pt. 3

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Willa Cather Youth and the Bright Medusa These are the last two stories in the collection. "The Sculptor's Funeral...
4 comments:
Friday, June 9, 2017

Willa Cather: YOUTH AND THE BRIGHT MEDUSA, Pt. 2

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Willa Cather Youth and the Bright Medusa The following are two more stories found in Cather's collection-- Youth and the Bright Med...
9 comments:
Tuesday, June 6, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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 Today is the birthday of Thomas Mann, the author of one of my top ten favorite novels:  The Magic Mountain.       "Music awaken...
10 comments:
Monday, June 5, 2017

Gregory Benford: The Berlin Project

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Gregory Benford The Berlin Project   The Berlin Project is an alternate universe tale that up to a certain point reads more like a docud...
12 comments:
Friday, June 2, 2017

The Rubaiyat: Second Edition, Quatrain CV

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Second Edition:  Quatrain CV Would but the Desert of the Fountain yield One glimpse --if dimly, yet indeed reveal'd,      Toward ...
7 comments:
Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Walt Whitman: In Memoriam-- the defeated

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I was surprised to read this poem by Walt Whitman. 18 With music strong I come, with my cornets and my drums, I play not marches for ac...
5 comments:
Saturday, May 27, 2017

Chaim Potok: Two novels

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Chaim Potok The Chosen The Promise  One of the reasons I belong to several book discussion groups is that I get an opportunity to read...
14 comments:
Tuesday, May 23, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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Language is the stuff of the imagination.  The imagination is the creative aspect of language.  It enables us to use language to its high...
18 comments:
Friday, May 19, 2017

Lawrence Durrell: Monsieur or The Prince of Darkness

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Lawrence Durrell Monsieur or Prince of Darkness Book 1 of  "The Avignon Quintet"  (aka The Quincunx) Please do not expect an ...
3 comments:
Monday, May 15, 2017

Willa Cather: YOUTH AND THE BRIGHT MEDUSA, Pt. 1

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Willa Cather Youth and the Bright Medusa short stories The title is a bit deceptive, for it isn't just about youth.  The eight shor...
12 comments:
Thursday, May 11, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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To really appreciate a place or time----to extract the poignant essence of it--one should see it in the light of a departure, a leavetaking...
19 comments:
Monday, May 8, 2017

Wallace Stevens: "The Poems of Our Climate"

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Wallace Stevens is a very unique and perplexing poet, or so he seems to me.   Some of his poems are straightforward while others force me to...
17 comments:
Friday, May 5, 2017

A Time to Die?

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Generally speaking, killing another human is banned by most societies and religions.  There are exceptions of course--self-defense or defens...
14 comments: