Monthly Archives: January 2023

‘When Did He Do Well? Ne’er!’

Posted on January 31, 2023 by JMN

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I’ve filched my title from the standup comedy of the matchless Gary Gulman. If you don’t know him, you owe it to yourself to track down on YouTube, exempli gratia, his explanation of how the states got their abbreviations. (c) … Continue reading →

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Something Memorable in the Way of Verse

Posted on January 30, 2023 by JMN

The Poets There he sat among them(his old friends) a walking ashthat knows how to smile.And he still dreamed of a styleso clear it could wash a faceor make a dry mouth sing.But they laughed, having foundthemselves more astonishing. They … Continue reading →

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Joe Brainard: The Glory of Cheapo Things

Posted on January 28, 2023 by JMN

The creamy sensuality of the toothbrush rack melts your heart. Talk about ennobling humble objects with tender attention. It’s an act of painterly love lavished on a trivial appurtenance. Both lyrical and somehow sad. “There is something I lack as … Continue reading →

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The Reader Makes the Poem

Posted on January 27, 2023 by JMN

A turn of phrase can unsettle when the poet goads words beyond their commonly agreed boundaries. When the impertinence works, the reader experiences a shocked flash of assent. Ah yes! I see why you write that she “whirls” her hoe. … Continue reading →

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A Good Clinician Knows Communication Fosters Wellness

Posted on January 23, 2023 by JMN

My pendant whatnots had a fiery itch. I bashfully exposed them to the Dermatologist. “It’s excruciating,” I said. She cast her glance and looked up brightly. “Ah yes, I see what you mean,” she said. I pressed for amplification. “It’s … Continue reading →

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Who’s Getting Laid in This Picture?*

Posted on January 21, 2023 by JMN

“Organised chronologically, Matisse in the 1930s begins with a look at the Nice period, exemplified by his voluptuous Odalisque with Grey Trousers (1927). A seductive model in harem pants lays on a green bedroll, surrounded by brilliant red and yellow … Continue reading →

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Knaughty Knots

Posted on January 19, 2023 by JMN

If you’ve worked with lumber you know knots are harder than other parts of the wood. Their toughness can stymie a handsaw and defeat a nail. There was once a vogue in home-building circles for “knotty pine.” Prized for its … Continue reading →

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The Innovation Corrective

Posted on January 14, 2023 by JMN

Generative artificial intelligence is a colossal genie blasting out of its bottle as we speak. A key player in the crowded field is named Altman. Get it? Altman —> Alt + Man —> Alternative Man. I made the name up … Continue reading →

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What Are We Wading For?

Posted on January 13, 2023 by JMN

A poem by Richard Reeve introduced me to the accipiter. I Googled it to find it’s a cadillac of a hawk built for fast flight in woodlands. Love the word. I listened to the online pronunciator for good measure. The … Continue reading →

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A Paean to Noma

Posted on January 9, 2023 by JMN

All these words are Pete Wells’s words. I’ve merely culled them selectively from his essay on Noma into a poem-like structure. I’m darned if there’s not a Whitmanesque vibe to it. It was here in the reindeer lichen and puffed … Continue reading →

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