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.

Claudette Johnson (1959 – Present), Artist of the British West Midlands ‘Blk Art Group’

Posted on September 5, 2024 by JMN

“I tend to just make a mess.” (Claudette Johnson) Artist-blogger OutsideAuthority’s mention of an exhibition of work by Claudette Johnson in Birmingham (England) caused me to discover an article about Johnson’s first solo show in New York last year. These … Continue reading →

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Terrific Image, Perfect Caption

Posted on September 3, 2024 by JMN
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‘I Handed This…Singular Life Over’: Kate Asche’s ‘[Untitled]’

Posted on August 30, 2024 by JMN

The words of Kate Asche’s poem “[Untitled]” (Poetry, May 2024) enact a sac-like image on the page. Leapfrog the spaces between them and they (the words) hang together as if magnetized, flowing into shattering assertions. A life is lost in … Continue reading →

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On Rhyme and a Little Bit of Rhythm

Posted on August 28, 2024 by JMN

Reading current poems, I notice how rhyme seems mostly a thing of the past. Occasional rhyme and near rhyme can land felicitously nowadays, but when deployed lockstep it’s often noisy and distracting. To some degree the same is true with … Continue reading →

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A Good Speech Is a Feat of Crowd Control

Posted on August 23, 2024 by JMN

Booing is the most boring crowd noise there is, even when the crowd thinks its noise supports the speaker. The second-most boring crowd noise is chanting, even when the crowd thinks its noise supports the speaker.  An effervescing horde of … Continue reading →

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Crying for No Obvious Reason

Posted on August 22, 2024 by JMN

“This is a brutal, tough business.” (Bill Clinton, speaking to the convention) Former President Clinton is right, of course. The sword of Damocles haunts this assembly. I wonder if weeping is a kind of emotional breaking of sweat that cleanses … Continue reading →

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Ciceronian Suasion: ‘Memorable in a Matter of Minutes’

Posted on August 21, 2024 by JMN

May we be guided by hope, joy and a fierce moral imagination.(Rabbi Sharon Brous) Anyone who watches Buttigieg on Fox News knows he can boil things down with terrific lines, and it’s being memorable in a matter of minutes that … Continue reading →

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Of Note at the Convention: A Freer Shade of Free

Posted on August 20, 2024 by JMN

It did my hurt Texas heart a world of good to see Jason Isbell turn up and sing a good song in a classic tux and without a 50-gallon hat on his head. He was, after all, indoors. (I never … Continue reading →

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Calling All Cat Ladies

Posted on August 18, 2024 by JMN

What My Cat Teaches Me Crouch.ThenPounce. InThatOrder. (c) 2024 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

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A Carton of French Fries Walks Into a Bar

Posted on August 16, 2024 by JMN

This is the latest specimen in The New Yorker’s cartoon caption contest that has run for centuries. I’ve never come close to inventing a caption for an entry in this feature, but it fascinates me for what it often shows … Continue reading →

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