Category Archives: Anthology

My collected writings and those of family members.

Paradise Flown

Posted on June 6, 2024 by JMN

“People are not always great at predicting their own behavior.” (Kristen Soltis Anderson) The founding myth of the civilization teeming beneath my bird feeder says a mature Cardinal fancied an underage squirrel. From their unnatural union sprang a creature with … Continue reading →

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‘I Don’t Agree With What I Said’

Posted on June 2, 2024 by JMN

In a delicious Onion skit a befuddled member of a clueless television news panel ends up saying, “Yeah, I don’t agree with what I said!” It’s a wicked sendup of vacuous cable news, but also sparks a thought: What if … Continue reading →

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It Stirs, Not-Knowing-Ness

Posted on May 31, 2024 by JMN

“You need to have some sense of awe, mystery and not-knowing-ness to have faith in the possibilities of the world and what God has done.” (Abram Van Engen) IT STIRSWhat are we seeing?I don’t know, but there it is.It is … Continue reading →

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Hilltop Experience

Posted on May 28, 2024 by JMN

There must be a type of experience that isn’t uncommon among folk, yet is felt individually as epochal and singular. I classify it as contemplation of a certain prospect from a particular height in circumstances which combine to induce a … Continue reading →

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Transcendental Hokum

Posted on May 23, 2024 by JMN

it’s raining in Athens too, a brood of stars jump on the hood as I race onto Route 441 & sob over a cold voice on the radio explaining God. (Abhijit Sarmah, “In Her Last Phone Call”) I harbor the … Continue reading →

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Real Meat or Die!

Posted on May 18, 2024 by JMN

… Determined to assert their alterity, they make sure that they’re always facing backward. (Cole Swensen, “Birds on Statues”) From Tallahassee to the seathe state of Florida shall belab-grown meat and climate free. SourcesDionne Searcey, “‘We Will Save Our Beef’: … Continue reading →

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Incantation With Discreet Avowal

Posted on May 12, 2024 by JMN

To all who need them: Thoughts and prayers from the legislatures.Thoughts and prayers from the donors.Thoughts and prayers from the councils.Thoughts and prayers from the courts.Thoughts and prayers from the boards.Thoughts and prayers from the embassies.Thoughts and prayers from the … Continue reading →

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What You Read Is What YOU Read

Posted on May 9, 2024 by JMN

Frank Stella has died. He’s the one who said, “What you see is what you see,” with reference to painting (his painting, at least), a slogan someone described as “pithy and enduring.” I liked it so much I had it … Continue reading →

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Who Needs to Know?

Posted on May 6, 2024 by JMN

The most terrifying exercise I know is to calculate how many seconds I can expect to live. I refuse. Never send to know for whom the clock ticks. It ticks for thee (not me). I heard my dad in his … Continue reading →

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Clogging and Flogging

Posted on May 2, 2024 by JMN

Commentary blogs, or clogs, are thriving. There’s also a raft of ‘fluencer blogs, or flogs, out there. The difference between clogging and flogging can be subtle. In general the flogger is covertly, if not overtly, selling something; the clogger is … Continue reading →

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