Tag Archives: rhetoric

Notes on Poetry (‘Expressing the Unsaid’)

Posted on May 26, 2023 by JMN

He was so handsome, so fine and flinty and long-boned, that he was a shock to be around — he made people stupid, or teary, or angry or skin-starved, sometimes all at once. (Dwight Garner) (Dwight Garner, “Sam Shepard and … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Ann Lauterbach’s ‘Door’: Trouble Me, Poet

Posted on March 20, 2023 by JMN

A noun or pronoun, with a participle in agreement, may be put in the ablative to define the time or circumstances of an action. This construction is called the Ablative Absolute… The Ablative Absolute is an adverbial modifier of the … Continue reading →

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

‘Again and Ever’: Richard Deming Teaches at Yale

Posted on March 15, 2023 by JMN

Reading what writers who identify as poets say about verse can be waftish and atomized like verse itself. Straight talk doesn’t go with the territory. Richard Deming introduces the Poetry – March 2023 portfolio celebrating Ann Lauterbach with a 1-page … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dawn of the ‘Inherently Improbable’

Posted on March 11, 2023 by JMN

For the observer of language, phrases are the news. Today’s newsmakers are “inherently improbable,” “AI persona” and “crypto world.” “Inherently improbable” Florida wants to change the legal definition of actual malice to include any allegation that is “inherently improbable.” The … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Women Hold Up Half the Sky’

Posted on March 7, 2023 by JMN

“Women hold up half the sky” is a dictum of Mao Zedong cited by China’s current ruler, Xi Jinping, to endorse the equality of the sexes. Here’s his mission statement for the “equal” woman: “The broad number of women must … Continue reading →

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

John Donne and Tate

Posted on March 2, 2023 by JMN

There’s a biography of John Donne I’d like to read. As a preacher he was a crowd magnet in the pulpit of Saint Paul’s in London. He wrote love poems, some laced with misogyny, and later wished he hadn’t. He … Continue reading →

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

Diametric ‘Scape States

Posted on February 16, 2023 by JMN

“He’s showing us in the natural world our own inner landscape,” said [collector Bernard] Lumpkin, who owns four Gavin canvases. “When you’re inhabiting a painting by Cy, you’re inhabiting a world which is simultaneously strange and familiar; real and surreal; … Continue reading →

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

The French Are Okay with Being ‘The French’

Posted on February 11, 2023 by JMN

“We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing ‘the’ labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college educated.” (Tweet from The Associated Press Stylebook) How “the French” constitutes a “label” left many French people mystified. … Continue reading →

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

The Bro Mob: Meta, Not Beta

Posted on January 2, 2023 by JMN

“Last month, Mark Zuckerberg spent hours touting his love of jiujitsu, wrestling and UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship] on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which is known for its hypermasculinity. Watching TV was not active enough, Mr. Zuckerberg said. “Compared with social media, … Continue reading →

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

‘Mystique of Belatedness’: Mything the Point

Posted on December 31, 2022 by JMN

Thank you for your visits to this blog and for indulging its mischief in 2022. More joy and less loss be ahead for each and all! (JMN) “I’m convinced. Eliot finished poetry off.” (Matthew Walther) The problem is not that … Continue reading →

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