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.

The Rivers That Reaches for the Ocean

Posted on September 6, 2025 by JMN

“You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” (Robin Williams, quoted by Mitch Teemley) The Guadalupe reaches for the ocean.The Pedernales reaches for the ocean.The Rio Grande reaches for the ocean.The Colorado reaches for the ocean.The … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

This Is Now (Again)

Posted on September 1, 2025 by JMN

“He’s also piercingly smart about his place as a white observer in a Black art form.” (Jayson Greene, on Daniel Levin Becker) Before you-know-who was president, I encountered something called Twitter, ran with it for maybe six weeks. That was … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

THERE Be Dragons — Blue Ones!

Posted on August 28, 2025 by JMN

“We still don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with here… But given the warming of the Mediterranean,… we’re not ruling out that in the coming years we will once again confront situations that we’ve never dealt with.” (José Luis Sáez, … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 5 Comments

Mission Accomplished: The Zone Is Flooded

Posted on August 21, 2025 by JMN

“This facility is supposed to house non-violent offenders… Human trafficking is a violent crime.” (Julie Howell, inmate of Bryan Federal Prison Camp) The site of the ancient toilet where the Jordan CodeX was found, known to antiquity buffs as “the … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged | 2 Comments

How Do You Say ‘Drill, Baby, Drill!’ in Putonghua?

Posted on August 15, 2025 by JMN

“Chinese scholars… absolutely dominate research in the following fields: materials science, chemistry, engineering, computer science, the environment and ecology, agricultural science, physics and math.” (David Brooks) China cheers cheeky America’s fossil fuelish folly. Here’s why: China leads global production in— … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 6 Comments

Does the ‘Jordan’ Codex Shed Light on the Elapse? Dispute Rages.

Posted on August 14, 2025 by JMN

“Whatever we may ultimately learn about Epstein, it will be sad and sordid, a story of people getting hurt and of people getting away with hurting them.” (Peter C. Baker) The last half of first-quarter Century XXI CE bequeathed much … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Hill Country, Texas Camper’s Song

Posted on August 7, 2025 by JMN

Down I lay me now to sleep and prayFor come who might to whats-it in the sky.Not dead before I wake may I be found.To sleep and pray now down I do me lay.The ocean’s mighty large and wet, they … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

‘A Wild and Capacious Art’

Posted on August 3, 2025 by JMN

“Poetry belongs to all who write, read, sing and sign it.” (Adrian Matejka) ”A wild and capacious art” is how Adrian Matejka describes it. The editor of Poetry knows whereof he speaks, though I would hazard that other art forms … Continue reading →

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Until We Are They?

Posted on July 26, 2025 by JMN

“The evolution of language always encounters resistance, and sometimes outrage.” (John McWhorter) A poem by Danez Smith in Poetry, July-August 2025, titled “They/Them” should be read whole but, to be brief, starts: said short: i feel more like a stud. … Continue reading →

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‘Deep Blue Scrap of Lie’

Posted on July 24, 2025 by JMN

There’s a cleanly spoken, elegant poem in Poetry, May 2025, that lingers in the mind’s eye. It’s called “Infinity Pool” by Vona Groarke.  You flirt with an arresting occurrence in the liminal paralysis of semi-sleep. It nags. If not worded … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 10 Comments