Author Archives: JMN

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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.

Dear Mother… I missed my last

Posted on July 21, 2018 by JMN

I missed my last weekend’s letter because of Andrew’s illness. It was not serious, but required that he be in the hospital for four days. A virus that produces nausea, diarrhea and fever has hit the little ones hard in … Continue reading →

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Dear Mother… I’m continuing

Posted on July 21, 2018 by JMN

“I’m continuing to read Jacques Barzun’s “Teacher in America,” written in the forties. He has a lot to say about what education really consists of (a lifelong endeavor), and I imagine a lot of his ideas would be sympathetic to … Continue reading →

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“Madame Declines”

Posted on July 21, 2018 by JMN

Madame Declines She revels in how much she couldn’t eat, And favors guests with bite-by-bite accounts Of steaks foregone and casseroles’ defeat, Sweets unsavored, succulence renounced, Salads, fruits, and relishes galore Spurned with a disdainful “Nevermore!” She weighs in mightily … Continue reading →

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Belle’s Interview by the “Horn & Haggler”

Posted on July 19, 2018 by JMN

If you’re gonna put this in the newspaper, hon, I want you to get it right. My name is Garnet Belle — Belle with an ‘e.’ I was a Brumbacher before I married Montgomery Clyde Hatch. My granddaddy Willibald Urqhardt … Continue reading →

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Dear Mother… By the way

Posted on July 19, 2018 by JMN

By the way, I meant to mention that Charles and I have had it round about “regional” writers. The introduction to the book he gave me starts by making a big point that the three writers featured are “Texas writers.” … Continue reading →

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Shed Down by the River

Posted on July 18, 2018 by JMN

From the street it’s nondescript: long and low, homely brickwork giving way to corrugated metal, no windows. Flat, pedestrian, a second-rate, seedy, industrial-looking structure on a humble side of town. Patio and doorways are on the opposite side facing inward … Continue reading →

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Requiem for a Walking Stick

Posted on July 18, 2018 by JMN

You sweet bastard. Just two days ago I transferred you from the risky environs of the patio to the security of the Jatropha bush. Now I find you again on the patio inert, apparently expiring. What has hurt you? Or … Continue reading →

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Seduction by Menu

Posted on July 18, 2018 by JMN

“The menu should read like a poem,” Ms. de Boer said. “You should seduce the diner. People don’t know they want to eat deep-fried mackerel with aioli, so you’ve got to tell a story and get them on your wavelength.” … Continue reading →

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Make Someone Smile

Posted on July 18, 2018 by JMN

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing,” the street artist Banksy wrote in 2001. “And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty, you can make someone smile … Continue reading →

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Dear Mother… Charles

Posted on July 17, 2018 by JMN

Charles gave me a copy of his “translation” of Arthur Rimbaud’s “Le bateau ivre” (The Drunken Boat). I put “translation” in quotes because Charles readily admits that his version derives from other English versions of the poem, since he doesn’t … Continue reading →

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