Author Archives: JMN

Unknown's avatar

About JMN

I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.

‘Modest, Solitary Buildings Were Often Her Subject Matter’: Gretchen Dow Simpson (1939-2025)

Posted on May 10, 2025 by JMN

While modest, solitary buildings were often her subject matter, Ms. Simpson’s work was not purely representational. A former commercial photographer, she applied a telephoto approach to many of her paintings, zooming in on windows, doorways or rooftops to emphasize the … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Pippa Garner (1942-2024): Setting an Example

Posted on May 10, 2025 by JMN

“I tried to set an example that nobody else can follow.” (Pippa Garner) A one-off slogan printed on her T-shirt series called “Shirtstorm” was “These Are My Remains.” (Will Heinrich, “Pippa Garner, Conceptual Artist With a Satirical Streak, Dies at … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 4 Comments

Which of These Dialogs Features a So-and-So?

Posted on May 3, 2025 by JMN

Dramatis Personae: Niamh, a lass. Oisín, a lad. Niamh: Have you had supper?Oisín: So I ate before leaving the house. Oisín: What was Waterloo?Niamh: So Wellington defeated Napoleon there. Niamh: How many capitals has Mongolia?Oisín: So I’m aware of only … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Dervish Is in the Detail

Posted on April 30, 2025 by JMN

Bret Stephens, conservative columnist for the New York Times, Jew raised in Mexico, fluent Spanish speaker, quotes (from memory) a poem called “God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manley Hopkins at the end of The Conversation with Gail Collins.  In my reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

The Few. The Proud. The Marooned

Posted on April 27, 2025 by JMN

I do solitary battle with poetry. Yes, battle. I challenge the poem, it challenges me. Me and the poem, the two of us in mental combat. From the former Gulf of MexicoTo the shores of Zuiderzee,I have pondered verses bad … Continue reading →

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

‘The Choice to Limit Our Exposure to the Virtual’

Posted on April 24, 2025 by JMN

“But how much survives will depend on our own deliberate choices — the choice to date and love and marry and procreate, the choice to fight for particular nations and traditions and art forms and worldviews, the choice to limit … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 5 Comments

‘I’m Sorry, I Only Do My Own Ideas’

Posted on April 17, 2025 by JMN

The larger, more established studios, he later recalled, did not take to his eccentric work, responding with blank stares and, in one instance, suggesting religious counseling. My title is illustrator Brad Holland’s comment in turning down an assignment offered by … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Descending to the Heights!

Posted on April 16, 2025 by JMN
Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

We’re Quanta Spawned by a Polyvalence

Posted on April 12, 2025 by JMN

President Trump issued a separate executive order in January proclaiming that there are only two sexes. If the unitary executive wants to go all binary, then Him and Her it is. God knows, She has had her problems, starting with … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , | 8 Comments

‘Cuerpo,’ from La Bancarrota del Circo

Posted on April 9, 2025 by JMN

I asked azurea20 if I could post an English reading of her poem “Cuerpo” on EthicalDative, and she said yes. Below is the original Spanish text of her lyric published on her website, La Bancarrota del Circo, followed by my … Continue reading →

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