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.

Late ‘Adamantine Crudeness’

Posted on September 26, 2020 by JMN

Roberta Smith faults Hauser & Wirth for “an exhibition of mostly bland self-portrait drawings showing the artist [Luchita Hurtado] as a simple outline or silhouette… redeemed by too few of her more intense acrylic paintings from the last two years…” … Continue reading →

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Virginia Jaramillo

Posted on September 26, 2020 by JMN

Her art began as an experiment in color blocking, the pairing of contrasting tones, and it got even leaner as she went along. “I just kept simplifying, simplifying,” she said. “I dropped the form and kept the line.” “I’m working … Continue reading →

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Two Corinthians (Poem)

Posted on September 18, 2020 by JMN

Two Corinthians Up to your no good — still? — are you, brass neck,hopped up gust, blur, bad vibe, heap of slag piledon top of hope? Make less way for the yachtcaste. Put the god-blessed arms down, can tough talk,stuff … Continue reading →

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A Texas Artist

Posted on September 17, 2020 by JMN

This gallery contains 1 photo.

From The Shed Art Studio Collection. (c) 2020 JMN

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‘I Hate Men’ Two

Posted on September 10, 2020 by JMN

There’s more to Pauline Harmange, French author of I Hate Men, than met the eye of Ralph Zurmély, the gender equality ministry adviser who sought to prosecute her for incitement of gender-based violence. His ministry said “it appeared [he] had … Continue reading →

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Pen Pricks

Posted on September 9, 2020 by JMN

In certain Victorian novels, female authors paint a bleak picture of limited options available to women lacking means or family status; of a lonely and loveless existence, yet one lacking privacy and subject to uninvited comment; of a life peopled … Continue reading →

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‘Manlift’!

Posted on September 8, 2020 by JMN

The locale in which these paintings hang reminds me of the shed I inhabit on a smaller scale. The old grain tower retains “a wood, steel and rubber contraption ascending through a chute in the ceiling” with a sign reading: … Continue reading →

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Notes on Poetry from India (2)

Posted on September 7, 2020 by JMN

In part two of his 2007 essay about Indian poetry*, R. Parasarathy narrows his focus to contemporary poetry written in Tamil. He credits C. Subramania Bharati (1882-1921) with breaking free of received forms, notably in his Prose Poems, and inventing … Continue reading →

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The Case for Old Bulls

Posted on September 6, 2020 by JMN

“New research challenges the assumption that bulls become redundant in elephant society after breeding.” New evidence suggests that male elephants do have social lives, and that older males may act as leaders for younger ones.…For example, from 1992 to 1997, … Continue reading →

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Notes on Poetry from India (1)

Posted on September 6, 2020 by JMN

In the September 2007 edition of Poetry, R. Parthasarathy edited an “Indian Poetry Portfolio” accompanied by his essay titled “Indian Poetry Today.” I note salient points from that essay here. India’s National Academy of Letters (Sahitya Akademi) recognizes twenty-four languages, … Continue reading →

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