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.

‘It’s This Old, Fatal Love for the Landscape’

Posted on June 25, 2022 by JMN

The quotation in my title is from nature writer Robert Macfarlane. His book The Old Ways featured British war artist Eric Ravilious, killed in a plane crash in 1942. In the book, Macfarlane “points to the way the artist would … Continue reading →

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‘Telescope’ by Louise Glück

Posted on June 23, 2022 by JMN

Occasionally a poem is so frictionless it stabs without hurting. My second reading of “Telescope” by Louise Glück was to someone far away over FaceTime. You’ve gotta hear this! I chirped. There is a moment after you move your eye … Continue reading →

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A Lash of Good Tongue

Posted on June 20, 2022 by JMN

“To sit fast badly is better than to be thrown easily.” (Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, p. 124) [sū’(u)-l-istimāk(i) ẖair(un) min ḥusn(i)-ṣ-ṣirƸaẗ(i)] Wright cites the phrase to illustrate the formation of the [ism(u)-n-nūƸ(i)], noun of kind, aka nomina … Continue reading →

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‘To Translate Is to Look into a Mirror…’

Posted on June 18, 2022 by JMN

Benjamin Moser reviews Jhumpa Lahiri’s book “Translating Myself and Others.” The book deals with her decision at age 45 to begin writing in Italian, which for her was an entirely learned language. “Art is not — should not — be … Continue reading →

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The American Week

Posted on June 14, 2022 by JMN

Monday: A law is born in the House of RepresentativesTuesday: The law dies in the SenateWednesday: A mass shooting occursThursday: The scene is taped off and sealedFriday: Thoughts and prayersWEEKEND! Monday: A law is born in the House… etc. (c) … Continue reading →

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Bah-BOOM-BOOM Riff Ripped

Posted on June 13, 2022 by JMN

First published as https://ethicaldative.com/2022/05/22/bah-boom-boom-riff/ . To Her, Still One’s home is her castle,a refuge from hustleand bustle, the jostle of mobs;nest in which refuge to seekfrom the insults that bristlein digital wallowsand rants of apostles of doom,by the wherry that’s … Continue reading →

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Two Centered Voices in the Din

Posted on June 10, 2022 by JMN

Bret Stephens, conservative columnist: Imagine a TV ad from a moderate Democrat like Ohio’s Tim Ryan or Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger that goes something like this: “I believe in the Second Amendment. But not for this guy,” followed by a picture … Continue reading →

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To Whom It Concerns on the Morrow

Posted on June 7, 2022 by JMN

Hey, U 2 + 3! June 8 and Jan 9 are two dates written in bright lights for us who love you. Your penultimate mission in Oki is to celebrate the dickens out of that day which will have arrived … Continue reading →

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‘There’s a Future…’

Posted on June 5, 2022 by JMN

A comment to a recent post here (https://ethicaldative.com/2022/06/01/pledge-of-resistance/) states: “People kill people. Not guns, cars or anything else. People need help and they don’t get it. Our society decided that inclusion is more important than helping people and/ or making … Continue reading →

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Women Irritated the Painter. Oh Dear

Posted on June 2, 2022 by JMN

John Elderfield, who curated the last big de Kooning survey for the Museum of Modern Art, said that originally the Woman series upset different people in different ways… Some were dismayed by the vulgar treatment of the female form… Elderfield’s … Continue reading →

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