Tag Archives: lexicon

‘Smidgins’: Afterthought

Posted on April 17, 2022 by JMN

A “smidgin” is an imprecise, tiny amount of something, a modest dollop. As a poem title, the jocular word is self-effacing but also coyly assertive, like a humble-brag. I got dirt under my nails the other day with Rae Armantrout’s … Continue reading →

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How Poetry Feels About Itself

Posted on April 12, 2022 by JMN

Rae Armantrout’s poem “Smidgins” fulfills an imperative of lyric, which is “Don’t be gassy.” Also another imperative, which is “Talk in riddles.” My crumpled, wrinkled / blurt / of flesh. // “Let’s face it,” / it says. * … Ravaged … Continue reading →

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Nosegay of ‘Droit de Seigneur’

Posted on February 25, 2022 by JMN

Consulting an Arabic dictionary involves looking up a word’s “root,” usually comprising three consonants. Words formed from the root are listed, with their translations, along with idioms in which the word occurs. What the root is may not be apparent … Continue reading →

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Sparring With Blushes

Posted on May 27, 2021 by JMN

“My English is chaste, and all licentious passages are left in the obscurity of a learned language.” (Edward Gibbon) In the Middle Ages, several women poets of Arab Spain (al-Andalus) were known for their erotic and satiric verses composed with … Continue reading →

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How Are Posh Men Educated?

Posted on May 4, 2021 by JMN

…The vanities of posh men… centre on an ancient system that trains a narrow caste of people to run our affairs…. Ever questing to penetrate British lingo, I wobble over “public” versus “private” education in the kingdom’s parlance. In my … Continue reading →

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Base Camp

Posted on January 14, 2021 by JMN

They came in all sorts of camouflage, in animal pelts and flak jackets, in tactical gear and even a sphagnum-covered ghillie suit. When you leave the totems of your usual identity behind you free yourself from the laws that govern … Continue reading →

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‘The Flag Is Also Waving You’

Posted on January 3, 2021 by JMN

Someone who studies flags is a “vexillologist.” There’s a North American Vexillological Association for persons devoted to this study. In the 18th and 19th centuries, a flag was not so much a symbol as a practical way to tell from … Continue reading →

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Beethovian

Posted on December 16, 2020 by JMN

If there’s something that can be called a Beethovian gravitas assumable by a sculptor who is female, artist Maggi Hambling is a contender. That’s by way of an admiring aside to the topic of this article. “Luxuriantly bushed,” “obligingly passive,” … Continue reading →

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Pronounce This!

Posted on December 9, 2020 by JMN

Wrangling among logocrats in the Anglo-Empyrean over how to pronounce something in the common language that separates us is good for a brief detox from the trumpical pandemia. In August a Twitter-turd toss from Down Under landed on National Public … Continue reading →

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Fewer Miracles, Less Time

Posted on December 8, 2020 by JMN

Beatification occurs when the Pope declares a dead person to be in a state of bliss. It permits public veneration and is the first step towards canonization. Canonization occurs when the Roman Catholic Church officially admits a dead person into … Continue reading →

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