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Category Archives: USA
I am thinking now of grief, and of getting past it;
Starlings in Winter by Mary Oliver Chunky and noisy, but with stars in their black feathers, they spring from the telephone wire and instantly they are acrobats in the freezing wind. And now, in the theater of air, they swing … Continue reading
“It was a dark and stormy night.”
Since 1982 the Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest has challenged participants to write a truly awful opening sentence to the worst novel never written. The whimsical literary competition honors Sir Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel Paul Clifford begins with “It … Continue reading
Not another Book of the Year List
It’s that time of the year when the “Best Books of the Year” lists come out. While I mine the lists for reading recommendations, I hesitate to generate my own list. Reading tastes are so subjective. In fact, I frequently … Continue reading
Posted in Books, ebooks, USA, Writing
Tagged Fiction, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post
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We shall by morning Inherit the earth
MUSHROOMS by Sylvia Plath Overnight, very Whitely, discreetly, Very quietly Our toes, our noses Take hold on the loam, Acquire the air. Nobody sees us, Stops us, betrays us; The small grains make room. Soft fists insist on Heaving the … Continue reading
The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip
I was today years old when I discovered that America’s greatest living short story writer George Saunders published a children’s book more than 20 years ago. Issued in 2000 by Villard Books, an imprint of Random House, The Very Persistent … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Books, USA, Writing
Tagged book illustration, Children's literature, George Saunders, goats
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What’s the Word
Merriam-Webster dictionary reports that its word of the year is the manipulative, misdirecting term that causes the target to question the surety of their own sanity, is taken from the title of the George Cukor 1944 classic film Gaslight. Although in … Continue reading
Posted in USA, Writing
Tagged codify, dictionary, English language, gaslight, oligarch
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Some You May Like, Some You May Need
What better way to start the week than unexpected photographs of animals being amusing from the 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. Who wouldn’t love to spend an afternoon riding a tourist train in Japan’s verdant countryside powered by leftover ramen broth. … Continue reading
The First Thanksgiving
Warrington Wickham Colescott Jr. (March 7, 1921 – September 10, 2018) was an American artist, he is best known for his satirical etchings. He was a master printmaker and operated Mantegna Press in Hollandale, Wisconsin, with his wife and fellow … Continue reading
Everybody Loves a Travel Guidebook Parody
Here in North America the travel guidebook author and travel show host Rick Steves is almost universally loved, but is also the target of good natured satire as well. While I’ve met Rick, and even spent an afternoon hanging with … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA, Writing
Tagged McSweeney, Rick Steves, Satire, Travel Guidebooks
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Brooklyn Public Library’s Most Borrowed Book
When I was a young child I spent quite a lot of time in Brooklyn. I did the usual things that Brooklyn kids did; I played stick ball in the street and stuffed my face at the corner candy store. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, History, Libraries, USA, Writing
Tagged Brooklyn, Brooklyn Public Library, Charles Dickens, Maurice Sendak, New York City
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