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.

Poetry Frisson

Posted on August 21, 2020 by JMN

The poem is “That Other” by Joyce Carol Oates (Poetry*, July/August 2020). Reading this miniature is like encountering a firm pack of beach after jogging on dry sand. The poem is accessible while allusive, and wry. It crystallizes for me, … Continue reading →

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The Pain of Poetry

Posted on August 20, 2020 by JMN

My correspondent in life of the mind states my state of mind neatly and plainly in the matter of phosphorescent gargoyle exhalations swaddled in effulgent gossamer — I mean to say prosody. Now I remember why I, and doubtless others … Continue reading →

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‘Kind of Enough’

Posted on August 19, 2020 by JMN

If most of what [Evan] Kinori makes costs a lot (shirts start at $285; pants at $365; and jackets at $525), it is in part because they are produced in such limited quantities… “My design ethos is basically geared toward … Continue reading →

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Finicky Finger-Wag

Posted on August 18, 2020 by JMN

Until then, many are relishing in his struggles and those of his team: The Astros, who reached the World Series last season, were 12-10 and battling for second place in the American League West just over a third of the … Continue reading →

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Tweet Storm Testicle Taint

Posted on August 18, 2020 by JMN

Spanish leftist leader Pablo Iglesias praised U.S. television writer David Simon’s latest series “The Plot Against America” on Twitter, saying the series showed that fascism was never far away. Iglesias’s tweet provoked “a flurry of responses in praise of and … Continue reading →

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‘A Difference That Adds Up’

Posted on August 16, 2020 by JMN

In 2019, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London hosted the first international retrospective of Ms. Hurtado’s art, “I Live I Die I Will Be Reborn.” Reviewing it in The Guardian, Adrian Searle wrote, “Vitality, tenderness, spookiness, intimacy, gawkiness, sexiness, subtlety, … Continue reading →

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Mother Power

Posted on August 15, 2020 by JMN

The “club” of Sarah Vowell’s title is clarified in the subtitle of this article: “They’re the graduates of public universities, and they’ve stepped into the void of presidential leadership.” President Lyndon Johnson was a graduate of Southwest Texas State College … Continue reading →

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Extreme Centrality. Yeah

Posted on August 14, 2020 by JMN

Credit… Mason Trinca for The New York Times. The philosopher Isaiah Berlin once said he occupied the “extreme right-wing edge of the left-wing movement.” If that’s good enough for Isaiah Berlin, it’s good enough for me. (David Brooks, “This Is … Continue reading →

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About the Stag

Posted on August 10, 2020 by JMN

The poem is “Entire Known World So Far” by Carl Phillips (Poetry, July/August 2020). I share thoughts about my readings with a correspondent who returned the following in email: The part of the poem you copied out – where it … Continue reading →

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Not Enough Old White Men

Posted on August 10, 2020 by JMN

… The working-class emphasis is the only way out of the demographic doom loop. If the party sticks with its old white high school-educated base, it will die. They just aren’t making enough old white men. To have any shot … Continue reading →

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