Category Archives: Anthology

My collected writings and those of family members.

Understanding Lyrics

Posted on October 23, 2018 by JMN

My sister told me I had to listen to “One Headlight” by Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers. A friend had introduced her to the song. “Before you hear it,” she said, “I just want to say, you’re going to find … Continue reading →

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1987: Andrew

Posted on October 17, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] E*** was with Andrew at Albertson’s the other day and told me that every time they announced some instore special over the intercom Andrew would holler, “OK!” She looked at him and said, “They’re not talking to you, … Continue reading →

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1987: High-Tech Verse and Allergies

Posted on October 17, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] Charles B*** asked me to co-edit an anthology of high-tech verse which he has been commissioned to do by his publisher…. I’ve thought fairly seriously about it, but am thinking of passing it up in favor of things … Continue reading →

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“Whereabouts”

Posted on October 17, 2018 by JMN

Quite a few readers wrote to us last week to take issue with this sentence at the end of a briefing: “His whereabouts is unknown.” Surely, they wrote, it should be “whereabouts are.” Well, yes and no. Times editors consult … Continue reading →

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1987: Coping with Technicalese

Posted on October 14, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] I’ve spent the afternoon coping with IBM technicalese in the form of new product announcements… Here’s the block of turgid prose for your enjoyment: Highlights Allows IBM Personal System/2, attached to a Local Area Network to communicate with … Continue reading →

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1987: “A Fable”

Posted on October 14, 2018 by JMN

For C*** and H*** Bamboo blinds gentle the noonday, coastal sun. A Gulf breeze licks the south-east corner of Casa Ramico’s. I take my usual table, nodding at the busboys who greet me deferentially. Eulalia brings me water and a … Continue reading →

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1987: Twain: Tells a Lot

Posted on October 10, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] Another anecdote that tells a lot about the man is when he was allowed, with great reluctance on Clara’s part [one of Twain’s daughters], to attend a recital that she did manage to give. He was placed on … Continue reading →

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Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio)

Posted on October 10, 2018 by JMN

The exhibition’s principal curator, Francesca Cappelletti, said her aim was to demonstrate “what Caravaggio’s intellectual legacy was, not only as a painter but as an inventor.” He found new ways of depicting age-old subjects, be they mythological or biblical, and … Continue reading →

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Julian Schnabel: Rudimentary Concerns

Posted on October 10, 2018 by JMN

“What the surface of a painting can be is an obsession of mine,” Mr. Schnabel said. “If you see how the plate paintings function, it’s very three-dimensional, both physically and spatially. I like dealing with physical problems and rudimentary concerns … Continue reading →

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Stag Country: The Endicotts weren’t from here…

Posted on October 7, 2018 by JMN

The Endicotts weren’t from here. They came in the fifties from one of those towns the other side of Buckwaller. Rowena Endicott was a flouncy thing, half silly, always showed more leg in her skirts than was necessary. Her and me co-captained … Continue reading →

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