Monthly Archives: September 2025

Sean Singer and ‘Bird’

Posted on September 29, 2025 by JMN

Often as not a poem gives me a right old drubbing while stealing my lunch money, cackling in cold delight all the while. Instead of picking up my Big Chief tablet, shrugging and slinking back to class, I squeal like … Continue reading →

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‘Sheathed in Fetters’ or ‘Bound in Chains’?

Posted on September 26, 2025 by JMN

Afterthought foregrounded: This will go down as a wildly utopian, presumptuous, naive, impractical proposition. Imagine a world in which the devout were schooled from an early age to read the foundational scriptures of their respective creeds in the original languages … Continue reading →

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The World Is Running Out of Facts!

Posted on September 24, 2025 by JMN

Intelligence is being burned at an alarming rate. Fact incineration technologies birthed in Silicon Gulch have accelerated the depletion of natural reserves. In the advanced world, gas derived from fact-burning fuels everything from data centers and crypto mining to the … Continue reading →

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Azurea20: ‘Permit Me a Space Wherein to Hang My Voice’

Posted on September 22, 2025 by JMN

“I personally learned my own craft of writing poetry through translating poetry… I think one way to deepen the appreciation of poetry is to approach it through translation.” (Arthur Sze, new U.S. poet laureate) “Señora de las Cosas Errantes” by … Continue reading →

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Samatar Elmi Got There Before Me

Posted on September 19, 2025 by JMN

“We’re planning a way to allow wide swaths of the world to elect representatives to a new governance board… Because if I weren’t in on this I’d be, like, ‘Why do these fuckers get to decide what happens to me?’” … Continue reading →

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A Song Is Worth a Thousand Explanations? Depends on the Singer.

Posted on September 15, 2025 by JMN

“Explaining things is a dry way of communicating,” Islam said. “I’m in my best element when I’m actually singing my heart out.” (Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens) I reproach myself by saying it’s a ludicrous form of callousness to feel … Continue reading →

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Rollicking Chin Wag Introduces ‘Mumble Rap’

Posted on September 11, 2025 by JMN

The New York Times recorded interview with Earl Sweatshirt was a freewheeling romp by a voluble cohort of cognoscenti. High spirits prevailed. The three-way session was suffused with knowing guffaws, spicy vernacular and poignant insider allusion. For the hip-hop-curious outsider … Continue reading →

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Absurdity Muddled With Beauty: Insouciant!

Posted on September 9, 2025 by JMN

Muddling is when you gently and lovingly release aromatic oils from fruits and herbs. “I have finally freed myself from the sticky medium of paint, and am working directly with light itself.” (Man Ray, 1922) In French, the title [“Violon … Continue reading →

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The Rivers That Reaches for the Ocean

Posted on September 6, 2025 by JMN

“You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” (Robin Williams, quoted by Mitch Teemley) The Guadalupe reaches for the ocean.The Pedernales reaches for the ocean.The Rio Grande reaches for the ocean.The Colorado reaches for the ocean.The … Continue reading →

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This Is Now (Again)

Posted on September 1, 2025 by JMN

“He’s also piercingly smart about his place as a white observer in a Black art form.” (Jayson Greene, on Daniel Levin Becker) Before you-know-who was president, I encountered something called Twitter, ran with it for maybe six weeks. That was … Continue reading →

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