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.

Palestinian Poet, Translator, and Anthologist Salma Khadra Jayyusi Dies at 95 — ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY

Posted on April 23, 2023 by JMN

The pioneering translator, scholar, literary historian, and poet Salma Khadra Jayyusi — the most prominent anthologist of Arabic literature in English translation and founder of PROTA, the Project for the Translation of Arabic– died yesterday in Amman, Jordan. She was 95. … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 1 Comment

Is Brain Rack Journey or Destination?

Posted on April 23, 2023 by JMN

Have you ever suspected people who “play devil’s advocate” are often expressing their actual opinions, but without having to take responsibility for them? I worked in the tech industry a while. I should be more interested in ChatGPT. Why am … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Poem of as-Samau’al (Mid-6th Century AD): Verses 6-11

Posted on April 22, 2023 by JMN

This post is continued from here. The segment evokes the lofty mountain refuge available to the speaker’s confederates, then exalts his tribe’s martial disposition and willingness to die in battle and avenge the fallen. 6 We have a mountain where … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Poem of as-Samau’al (Mid-6th Century AD): Verses 1-5

Posted on April 20, 2023 by JMN

The poem starts by positing traits that support a claim to being honorable and to merit good praise. Those traits are upstanding conduct and a capacity for resisting (enduring?) personal injury. Then, responding to provocation voiced by a woman, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Sharon Olds: ‘I Want You Hour and Hour in My Line of Sight’

Posted on April 18, 2023 by JMN

Sharon Olds’s poem is called “To You, from Your Secret Admirer,” and it’s part of the selection contained in Poetry April 2023. It’s the steamiest poem I’ve read since encountering Louise Labé in college French and learning the ramifications of … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Sharon Olds: ‘Nothing False Will Be Spoken’

Posted on April 16, 2023 by JMN

I traversed Sharon Olds’s selection of poems in Poetry (April 2023) fresh in the morning and they entered me fluently, with almost no friction. It’s a rare and wonderful reading experience where POMAG fare is concerned. This has happened to … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

‘All Good Writers Think They Suck’

Posted on April 14, 2023 by JMN

My title quotes a spicy remark by Harlan Coben on a British talk show aired on March 24th. He continued: “Only bad writers think they’re good. We all get beat up. We all have impostor syndrome.” Coben’s comments contrast pertly … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Foobar to Fix ‘They’

Posted on April 12, 2023 by JMN

To automate Spanish verb conjugation with Java code I created variables to hold the gamut of subject pronouns available to English and Spanish. Here were the varieties of “you”: String youS = null; // “you” singular familiar = “tú”String YouS … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

If You Believe in ‘Random’ Words, Reconsider

Posted on April 8, 2023 by JMN

Programming code as I understand it is language that tells a computer what to do. It has customarily been written by humans. I’ve written it. Code has to be very literal and deliberate.The machine, traditionally, is clueless as a stump. … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Teacher Gets Schooled

Posted on April 6, 2023 by JMN

I taught in a country high school in deep rural Texas. I was rubbish at it for 9 out of 10 years — mine is the discredit, I make no excuses. Teaching still gives me bad dreams: A roomful of … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment