Monthly Archives: July 2021

‘This Is a Rooster’

Posted on July 6, 2021 by JMN

Don Quijote’s reference to Orbaneja the Painter stuck with me fondly over the years. It’s as savory now on second reading as it was on first. … Orbaneja el pintor de Úbeda, al cual preguntándole qué pintaba, respondió: <<Lo que … Continue reading →

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Worse Than God Made Us

Posted on July 5, 2021 by JMN

… Cada uno meta la mano en su pecho, y no se ponga a juzgar lo blanco por negro y lo negro por blanco; que cada uno es como Dios le hizo, y aun peor muchas veces. (Sancho Panza, “Don … Continue reading →

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Corn Fusion

Posted on July 4, 2021 by JMN

“Poems should be written rarely and reluctantly, / under unbearable duress and only with the hope / that good spirits, not evil ones, choose us for their instrument.”(Czeslaw Milosz) I get Ian McEwan and EwanMcGregor mixedup why I askmyself is … Continue reading →

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UK Sculptor: Hard Row to Hoe

Posted on July 3, 2021 by JMN

It will be [a shrine], but not for art lovers. Or for anyone who is easily embarrassed. Perhaps not even for Diana’s sincerest believers, for the statue group’s emotive symbolism is undermined by its aesthetic awfulness. In style it breathes … Continue reading →

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Write Infrequently, If Possible?

Posted on July 2, 2021 by JMN

… Unlike many great twentieth-century writers, who saw truth in despair, Milosz’s experiences convinced him that poetry must not darken the world but illuminate it: “Poems should be written rarely and reluctantly, / under unbearable duress and only with the … Continue reading →

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