Tag Archives: writing

Notes on Poetry (‘Expressing the Unsaid’)

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

Lie, Lay, Etc.: Humdrum Conundrum

I always lay my keys on the table when I get home. I laid them there an hour ago. They lay there undisturbed last night, and they’ll lie there tomorrow until I need the car. Using lie-lay-lain and lay-laid-laid according … Continue reading

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Clichés to Put in the Rearview Mirror

This gallery contains 1 photo.

A blockbuster list of hackneyed phrases has been amassed by Michael Massing (“Tip of the Iceberg,” New York Times, 4-27-23). Kick the tires on this bad boy, dear reader. It will make you realize no one is singing a new … Continue reading

More Galleries | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Is Brain Rack Journey or Destination?

Have you ever suspected people who “play devil’s advocate” are often expressing their actual opinions, but without having to take responsibility for them? I worked in the tech industry a while. I should be more interested in ChatGPT. Why am … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

‘All Good Writers Think They Suck’

My title quotes a spicy remark by Harlan Coben on a British talk show aired on March 24th. He continued: “Only bad writers think they’re good. We all get beat up. We all have impostor syndrome.” Coben’s comments contrast pertly … Continue reading

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

‘I Discovered That the Act of Writing Is Also an Act of Drawing’

Lebanese-American painter-poet-novelist Etel Adnan (1925-2021) was interviewed by Gabriel Coxhead for the June 2018 issue of Apollo. I’m drawn to her work for how it mingles Arabic language, painting and poetry. Quoting from the interview: Perhaps most interesting, in terms … Continue reading

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

Five Quotes About …

“What I teach you is nothing. What you learn by doing over and over is where the learning begins.” (Simon Michael) “Writing poetry is much easier … Five Quotes About …

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

Who’s Getting Laid in This Picture?*

“Organised chronologically, Matisse in the 1930s begins with a look at the Nice period, exemplified by his voluptuous Odalisque with Grey Trousers (1927). A seductive model in harem pants lays on a green bedroll, surrounded by brilliant red and yellow … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Saint Brevity, Patron of Blagueurs

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” (Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon, 1971) Like a bird on a pole,Like a soul on the dole,I have tried all my waysTo be brief.(JMN, after Leonard Cohen) (Harold Simon is quoted by … Continue reading

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

Sensing the Presence of Vinegar: Food Poetry

(A squalid detail to put behind us: “vichyssoise” is misspelled in the review as “vichysoisse.” Slipshod, to be sure, but my esteem for Pete Wells’s writing remains intact. Even Homer nodded.) Pete Wells said once that when he became restaurant … Continue reading

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