Tag Archives: language

Rollicking Chin Wag Introduces ‘Mumble Rap’

Posted on September 11, 2025 by JMN

The New York Times recorded interview with Earl Sweatshirt was a freewheeling romp by a voluble cohort of cognoscenti. High spirits prevailed. The three-way session was suffused with knowing guffaws, spicy vernacular and poignant insider allusion. For the hip-hop-curious outsider … Continue reading →

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Absurdity Muddled With Beauty: Insouciant!

Posted on September 9, 2025 by JMN

Muddling is when you gently and lovingly release aromatic oils from fruits and herbs. “I have finally freed myself from the sticky medium of paint, and am working directly with light itself.” (Man Ray, 1922) In French, the title [“Violon … Continue reading →

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The Rivers That Reaches for the Ocean

Posted on September 6, 2025 by JMN

“You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” (Robin Williams, quoted by Mitch Teemley) The Guadalupe reaches for the ocean.The Pedernales reaches for the ocean.The Rio Grande reaches for the ocean.The Colorado reaches for the ocean.The … Continue reading →

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This Is Now (Again)

Posted on September 1, 2025 by JMN

“He’s also piercingly smart about his place as a white observer in a Black art form.” (Jayson Greene, on Daniel Levin Becker) Before you-know-who was president, I encountered something called Twitter, ran with it for maybe six weeks. That was … Continue reading →

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Does the ‘Jordan’ Codex Shed Light on the Elapse? Dispute Rages.

Posted on August 14, 2025 by JMN

“Whatever we may ultimately learn about Epstein, it will be sad and sordid, a story of people getting hurt and of people getting away with hurting them.” (Peter C. Baker) The last half of first-quarter Century XXI CE bequeathed much … Continue reading →

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Hill Country, Texas Camper’s Song

Posted on August 7, 2025 by JMN

Down I lay me now to sleep and prayFor come who might to whats-it in the sky.Not dead before I wake may I be found.To sleep and pray now down I do me lay.The ocean’s mighty large and wet, they … Continue reading →

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‘A Wild and Capacious Art’

Posted on August 3, 2025 by JMN

“Poetry belongs to all who write, read, sing and sign it.” (Adrian Matejka) ”A wild and capacious art” is how Adrian Matejka describes it. The editor of Poetry knows whereof he speaks, though I would hazard that other art forms … Continue reading →

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Until We Are They?

Posted on July 26, 2025 by JMN

“The evolution of language always encounters resistance, and sometimes outrage.” (John McWhorter) A poem by Danez Smith in Poetry, July-August 2025, titled “They/Them” should be read whole but, to be brief, starts: said short: i feel more like a stud. … Continue reading →

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‘Deep Blue Scrap of Lie’

Posted on July 24, 2025 by JMN

There’s a cleanly spoken, elegant poem in Poetry, May 2025, that lingers in the mind’s eye. It’s called “Infinity Pool” by Vona Groarke.  You flirt with an arresting occurrence in the liminal paralysis of semi-sleep. It nags. If not worded … Continue reading →

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‘I Came Into the World Very Young’

Posted on July 16, 2025 by JMN

I discovered Satie long ago through Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, and liked the music immediately. I thought of him as a “minor” composer, and I was drawn to perceived niche tastes. I crave even now the unmoored feeling that his music … Continue reading →

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