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.

Choices the Chosen Cherish

Posted on December 23, 2023 by JMN

I’m proud of the choice I madeto be squeezed from momma’s vaginain the Hamptons and not old Carolina. I’m proud that the daddy I chosewas several cuts above the rest,fetching me the fortune sans the quest. Proud I am of … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged | 10 Comments

Message in a Bubble

Posted on December 21, 2023 by JMN

Hola, H. He aquí todo un poema de un tal Ben Okri que sale en la revista Poetry de diciembre 2023. SEGOVIAI walked your acueducts at dawn.With giant legs they bestrode the landscapeOf the Moors. Stick insects. Like RomansOn stilts. … Continue reading →

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‘Our Lady of the Westside” by Antonio López

Posted on December 15, 2023 by JMN

“When Davis’s poems are poetry, they are powerful.” (Langston Hughes, on Frank Marshall Davis) I’ve no basis for discerning what’s verse and what’s poetry other than whether it jostles a personal needle. I compare a poetry moment (loosely) to another … Continue reading →

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Poetry Isn’t About

Posted on December 10, 2023 by JMN

I read verses that stir me,but can’t remember what they said.They don’t mean what they say,they are what they say.I read them again to be stirred;they keep not meaning, only being,leaving in my mind a memoryof being stirred by words.Grasping … Continue reading →

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There’s So Much to Be Said for Saying Less

Posted on December 8, 2023 by JMN

Quoth the raven, “Never mind.” (pace Poe) Afterword I’m copious and so are you. (From Cowpunk by Diane Seuss in Poetry, December 2023) (c) 2023 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

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A Defense of Women Via Sarcastic Tirade Meaning the Opposite of What It Purports to Affirm

Posted on December 2, 2023 by JMN

[Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice ironic bloviation. The message buried in a made-up rant full of ludicrous rhetoric (posted previously) is that the assertion “It never happened,” or that an encounter was “consensual,” implies … Continue reading →

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The Deep-Rooted Mendacity of the Weaker Sex

Posted on November 29, 2023 by JMN

Swaggart. Trump. Weinstein. Epstein. Windsor. Brand. Rose… the list goes on. When will such men be spared the allegations of conniving women? It’s the one time the word “liaress,” feminine of “liar,” would be a useful addition to the language. … Continue reading →

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‘Truth’ Is Straight-Up Naked, Dude

Posted on November 25, 2023 by JMN

“You have said the actual truth.” (Musk) (Michelle Goldberg, “Why on Earth Are Jewish Leaders Praising Elon Musk?” New York Times, 11-20-23) UNSTABLE GENIUSES, THEY GO AND COMEThe dude bogarts a joint and jinxes X,hocks the truth with loogies of … Continue reading →

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‘Cuando Me Vaya’ by Javier Sánchez

Posted on November 20, 2023 by JMN

The Spanish text I translate to English here is from Las palabras de Javier (November 16, 2023). In reading poetry of the day I brace for being left in the lurch, for being denied more than a cerebral engagement, at … Continue reading →

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Love the Beasts

Posted on November 17, 2023 by JMN

“Fauve painting is not everything,… but it is the foundation of everything.” (Matisse) I have an affinity for the stripe of painting perpetrated by the Fauves. Their manic attack with brush and pigment gestures offhandedly toward trees, water and sky. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 6 Comments