Monthly Archives: July 2020

Irish and Not Proud

Posted on July 20, 2020 by JMN

William James arrived penniless in Albany, NY from County Cavan, Ireland in the late 18th century. Over the next 30 years he created a fortune second only to that of the Astor family. His grandsons, novelist Henry and philosopher William, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mindreading the Meritocracy

Posted on July 20, 2020 by JMN

Of the opinion writers I read regularly in the NYTimes, the one who uses the term “meritocracy” most by far, and with pronounced ambivalence, is Ross Douthat — himself a confessed meritocrat (Hamden Hall Country Day School, magna cum laude … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

‘The Degeneracy of War’

Posted on July 19, 2020 by JMN

I’m fond of the colorful, map-like painting by the Austrian Hundertwasser. Also, of the sun figure that recurs in his work. “These artists have something in common: They all turned against the ideals of the Third Reich… I’m doing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What Makes a Poem ‘Hard’?

Posted on July 17, 2020 by JMN

“Syntax” is the answer to the fudgy question. It’s hard to reach image and reference through muddy syntax. In narrative and exposition, context comes to the rescue; in poetry often not, because a poet revels in flare-gunning lap dance moon … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bayou Bull: Breaking Water News

Posted on July 16, 2020 by JMN

Texas City. The American Hydrological Sodality’s southeast chapter is circulating a white paper, “Petulant Sociopathy Limitations for Drainage Management in Elevated Swamp-Tick Infestation Ecologies,” for peer review pending September publication in the journal Waterworks. The paper’s authors, Thom Smythe and … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How It Gets Ugly

Posted on July 15, 2020 by JMN

Half a thousand academics want Steven Pinker dropped from the list of “distinguished fellows” of the Linguistic Society of America for allegedly minimizing racial and sexist injustices. Because this is a fight involving linguists, it features some expected elements: intense … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

History Not Happened Yet

Posted on July 13, 2020 by JMN

A few years ago, I interrupted a panel discussion at the Guggenheim as it moved toward the dead-horse question of whether painting was still viable. How, I asked, uninvited, from the audience, could people talk of the end of painting … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Conservative with Elite Style

Posted on July 12, 2020 by JMN

But there was one small difficulty: This hawk was no Truman or Reagan, but rather a reality-television mountebank whose real attitude toward China policy was, basically, whatever gets me re-elected works. Who has heard recently, or ever, the word “mountebank”? … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Do Poets Ampersand?

Posted on July 12, 2020 by JMN

The poem is “Sacrament I” by Robin Gow (Poetry, March 2020). Excerpt, first stanza: & all the faucets pour oil or milk.We fill father’s bottles, the brown and green;thick glass blood cells, a throat-slit pouring silk.When will the baptisms make … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Navy Blue: A Nurse’s Medallion

Posted on July 10, 2020 by JMN

(c) 2020 JMN

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment