Tag Archives: personal

Manifestoid 1 of 2

Posted on June 25, 2020 by JMN

A correspondent writes: Watched the lunchtime news, it veers between positivity and warnings that leaves the head spinning and the heart pumping. In that last sentence, should it be ‘leave’ or ‘leaves’. I had ‘leaves’ because it is the veering … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Poesis in the Age of Wienie Grease

Posted on May 27, 2020 by JMN

I’ve discovered that what’s called poesis, said to be the making and shaping of poems — they must be shaped as well as made! — is not straightforward. For one, you have to follow your feelings rather than steer them. … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Gaudí to Hockney in My Mind

Posted on April 5, 2020 by JMN

“To depict nature, we can only try. Nature doesn’t have any straight lines. It doesn’t follow the rules of perspective.” (David Hockney) (Jonathan Jones, “David Hockney urges us to escape lockdown through a pencil,” theguardian.com, 4-4-20) This comment by Hockney … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

For Núria

Posted on March 16, 2020 by JMN

Te pongo aquí un cuadro reciente, tonto y burlón, mal logrado por supuesto, de ejecución turbia, hiciera lo que hiciera. Está pintado sobre otro cuadro que hizo tu abuelo, mi papá. El suyo fue un desnudo masculino sentado, visto de … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For Nuria

Posted on March 15, 2020 by JMN

En tu casa te esperan una gata, una guitarra, y un avi que te quiere mucho. JMN 15 de marzo 2020

Posted in Album | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Flavorcide

Posted on February 15, 2020 by JMN

I’m impaled by a witticism that wants outing.  My dad died in an old folks’ home as he was foot-scooting himself to breakfast in his wheelchair one morning. Everyone foot-scooted, no one got pushed. It was promoted as therapeutic exercise.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Commentary | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Waking the Dogs

Posted on July 31, 2018 by JMN

It’s been a red-letter several days in my quiet life, and I’m afraid it has me sounding off more than I should here on topics that normally I would let lie with sleeping dogs. I have a fear of goading … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 4 Comments

“Shed Down By the River” Continued

Posted on July 23, 2018 by JMN

Two other things that impressed me: (2) Among my peers at the Facultad de Filosofia y Letras in Barcelona, the “pandilla” was the organizing social unit — congenial, urbane, catholic, benign, excluding neither the ill-favored nor the studious nor the … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | Leave a comment

Remembered

Posted on July 23, 2018 by JMN

Arturo Rodríguez, Mexican immigrant, master mason, arch builder, craftsman, sweet tenor, husband, friend. Told one of the best jokes I know. Its punchline: … No le hagas caso a ese caballo, no sabe nada de mecánica. Copyright (c) 2018 James … Continue reading →

Posted in Album | Tagged | Leave a comment

Dear Mother… I’m continuing

Posted on July 21, 2018 by JMN

“I’m continuing to read Jacques Barzun’s “Teacher in America,” written in the forties. He has a lot to say about what education really consists of (a lifelong endeavor), and I imagine a lot of his ideas would be sympathetic to … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , | Leave a comment