Category Archives: Writing

To My Enemies

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Watching the nonstop maddening show of U.S. politics and culture these days, I have been reminded of the poem “To My Enemies” by the under-appreciated American poet Bert Meyers. Meyers was born in Los Angeles on March 20, 1928. The son of … Continue reading →

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Microfiction

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“A Continuity of Parks” by Julio Cortázar translated by Paul Blackburn He had begun to read the novel a few days before. He had put it down because of some urgent business conferences, opened it again on his way back … Continue reading →

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Not only Caturday, but Caturday nonetheless

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world, but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways … Continue reading →

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Writing is the greatest of human inventions

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumble upon is wonderful short video below of the late Carl Sagan talking about books. It’s worth a minute of your time. Please note, if the video fails to play in your browser click here.

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from the pitcher to the bowl

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

 Wisława Szymborska’s epigrammatic poem “Vermeer” (translated by Clare Cavanagh and Stanisław Barańczak from the Polish): So long as that woman from the Rijksmuseum in painted quiet and concentration keeps pouring milk day after day from the pitcher to the bowl … Continue reading →

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Freedom of the Press

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Every day I seem to be reading another story about the erosion of press freedoms here in the United States and around the world. The insidious takeover of print and online news outlets by rightwing corporate capitalist enterprises is just … Continue reading →

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Wet

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“Wet” by Joy Williams from 99 Stories of God The Lord was drinking some water out of a glass. There was nothing wrong with the glass, but the water tasted terrible. This was in a white building on a vast wasteland. … Continue reading →

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“What is the purpose of all this?”

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness. And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done.” And God created every … Continue reading →

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Dead Stars

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

DEAD STARS by Ada Limón Out here, there’s a bowing even the trees are doing. Winter’s icy hand at the back of all of us. Black bark, slick yellow leaves, a kind of stillness that feels so mute it’s almost … Continue reading →

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Don’t Panic It’s Towel Day

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

There isn’t a better time to release a collectible edition of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy than on Towel Day May 25th. The Folio Society is releasing a special edition of Adams’ trilogy in five parts, featuring “70 illustrations by Jonathan … Continue reading →

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