Tag Archives: A Mencken Chrestomathy

“Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” — H.L. Mencken

Posted on September 12, 2025 by sheila

“You know what H.L. Mencken said one time about religious people? He said he’d been greatly misunderstood. He said he didn’t hate them. He simply found them comical.” – Kurt Vonnegut Today is the birthday of one of the greatest … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, On This Day, writers | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “The Artist” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on December 7, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken Again and again, H.L. Mencken comes back to his pet themes, one being that America is a nation of prudes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “Schubert” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on December 6, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken Mencken refers to Franz Schubert as “one of the great glories of the human race”. In this essay, he discusses the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Music | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “Beethoven” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on December 4, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken After reading all of the essays that come before, it is a shock (and a pleasure) to come across the section … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Music | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “Ring Lardner” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on December 3, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken You know, I haven’t read much Ring Lardner. A piece here and there (some of them are anthologized in the various … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “The Man Within” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on December 2, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken Mencken thought The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was one of the greatest books ever written. And you know when Mencken praises … Continue reading →

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

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “Poe” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on December 1, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken Mencken was a great admirer of Poe (who had died in Baltimore, Mencken’s home town), and references him often in his … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “The Critical Process,” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on November 25, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken The Chrestomathy has so much in it that the cliche “embarrassment of riches” applies. There’s a great cantankerous essay on zoos … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “Chiropractic,” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on November 22, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken Often, when writers get angry, they lose their sense of humor. I suppose that is true for non-writers too. The real … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Books: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, “Valentino,” by H.L. Mencken

Posted on November 19, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing, by H.L. Mencken H.L. Mencken, as can be expected, didn’t have much good to say about this new-fangled business of movie-making. He thought it … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Books | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments