Category Archives: Anthology

My collected writings and those of family members.

Bodily Fluid Clean-up Kit

Posted on September 30, 2018 by JMN

The latest Food Service Inspection Report is published in my local newspaper, and it strikes chillingly close to home. “Moo Moo” is a decades-old fast-food joint specializing in fried chicken and burgers. Once a week, on “Wacky Wednesday,” you can … Continue reading →

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Yo-Yo Ma, America’s Cellist

Posted on September 28, 2018 by JMN

And what Mr. Ma plays at moments like those [i.e. historic occasions], to make us cry and then soothe us, is, more often than not, a selection from the Bach cello suites. These six works are the Everest of his … Continue reading →

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1987: There are two “topics” on my mind…

Posted on September 23, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] There are two “topics” on my mind. One results from watching the C-Span show where people call in from all over the country, usually to a group of journalists. I’ve seen it twice in the last several days; … Continue reading →

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Liberties Taken

Posted on September 22, 2018 by JMN

I want to think out loud about how poetry works, but without being too scrupulous about terminology. It just slows me down to try to re-research what the proper name for everything is. For a specimen I want to take … Continue reading →

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Family Treesome, Stag Country

Posted on September 20, 2018 by JMN

When Angel Boorschagle’s momma died, her daddy Otto Pavlicheck married a Subaville girl half his age named Madaleen Pope. Madaleen had their baby Travis the same week Angel’s son Wade was born. Otto got backed over by the stock trailer … Continue reading →

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1987: We enjoyed…

Posted on September 19, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] We enjoyed your March 15th letter with all the news. Also greatly interested in the Walker Percy pieces and look forward to reading the book. It’s amazing that “The Moviegoer” is that old. I’m continuing to forge desultorily … Continue reading →

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1987: I’ve started a little writing project

Posted on September 19, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] I’ve started a little writing project that I refer to as “Sketches” for now. I try to record or re-create things I hear and have heard from people at work. C** and N**, for example, are big talkers, … Continue reading →

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1987: There’s a certain amount of internecine feuding

Posted on September 18, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] There’s a certain amount of internecine feuding going on at my work, nothing directly involving me. Our two computer salespeople, man and woman, do not get along. Her name is D** and he is C**. D** is something … Continue reading →

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Decline and Fall? Informed Worry

Posted on September 18, 2018 by JMN

[Jill Lepore, Harvard professor, has just published “These Truths,” a new history of the United States.] If “These Truths” ends on a note of “Gibbonesque foreboding,” as she put it, she hopes it will take us out of the frenzy … Continue reading →

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1987: “God’s Fool”

Posted on September 17, 2018 by JMN

[Dear Mother,] I’ve read about a third or so of Hamlin Hill’s “Mark Twain: God’s Fool.” It’s about the last ten years of his life, based on materials that were not available or publishable when family members were still living. … Continue reading →

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