Monthly Archives: October 2023

The Saucy Song a Painter Sang

Posted on October 31, 2023 by JMN

I’ve pondered how much to grudgingly admire the towering raspberry Tadaaki Kuwayama gave rhetorically to the practice of art. His expressed approach oozes iconoclastic gore in the spirit of outré versecraft from the pages of Poetry. … He wanted to … Continue reading →

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Otiose Odium Yodel

Posted on October 29, 2023 by JMN

“Trashing his opponents and setting his huge fan base on them is a tactic Trump has used for years.” (The Guardian) The person who commits lèse majestéon the pugnacious lord of Magalagoincurs a stiff barrage of coo-coo ack-ackfrom keyboard hoplites … Continue reading →

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Decasílabos Sigilosos

Posted on October 26, 2023 by JMN

My favorite Spanish word is sigiloso.It comes to me unbidden of a suddenfrom that place frondoso in my noggin,the quarter that is menos lugareño,con tan poco apego to the localthat I can be exotically vocal. Resulta que me_evoca English “sigil,”a … Continue reading →

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The Heron and the Hoopoe

Posted on October 24, 2023 by JMN

Never a bird had fairer scientific name than Upupa epops, the jaunty hoopoe, for which the Arabic is hudhud. “Heron” is balaSHUN. I experience this delicate lyric written in Arabic as all signal with no noise. If it alludes to … Continue reading →

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Mrs. Muzzle

Posted on October 20, 2023 by JMN

By Monday morning, a furious Mrs. Muzzle pounced on Uncle’s lap, took her petite paw and gave his smirking lips several wicked whacks. But he … Mrs. Muzzle

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‘She Didn’t Do Innocence’

Posted on October 18, 2023 by JMN

“With students, sometimes she suggested that they try silence, not working at all. That, she believed, might be best for someone who was writing the wrong poems or producing too much.” (Colm Tóibín) She insisted on calling herself a writer. … Continue reading →

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‘2013-8-15’

Posted on October 15, 2023 by JMN

This is the second of 3 poems by Zakaria Mohammed published in the September 2023 edition of Poetry magazine. They date from 2013. (I noted the first one here). English translations by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha are in the Poetry issue … Continue reading →

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United We Stand Up and Yell, ‘FIGHT!’

Posted on October 10, 2023 by JMN

THE UNITED KINGDOM“Stand up and fight… etc. Stand up and fight – because when you stand up and fight,… etc… stands up and fights. And when… etc… stands up and fights,… etc… stands up and fights. And when… etc… stands … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 7 Comments

‘Somewhat Impenetrable to Outsiders’

Posted on October 8, 2023 by JMN

“Cricket is first and foremost a dramatic spectacle. It belongs with theater, ballet, opera and the dance.” (Trinidadian Marxist thinker C.L.R. James) Cricket may be “somewhat impenetrable” to outsiders, per The Times, but only to those who resist penetration. The … Continue reading →

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Make England Grow Again

Posted on October 5, 2023 by JMN

At the MEGA confab in Manchesterthe conurbation’s thrumming with humbug.Bannon cannons bombast from his basement.Farage megaphones it, cuts a rug with Priti. Hardening arteries of reaction course with candlefire.Queues for Dutch rubs bend round every corner.Conning spoilers croon sweet nothings … Continue reading →

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