Categories
Archives
-
-
-
Recent Posts
- Review: Prime Minister (2025)
- “That is no country for old men.” — William Butler Yeats
- “Superfluous people in the service of brute power….” — Ryszard Kapuściński
- Supernatural re-watch, Season 1
- “I am the most famous unknown of the century.” — Djuna Barnes
- “It’s innately in me to want to yell and love at the same time.” — Jessie Reyez
- “People always think of me as Maria and I think of me as Maria all the time.” –Sonia Manzano
- “I really genuinely look forward to coming to work every day.” — Treat Williams
- Happy Birthday, Chips Moman
- “Language most shows a man. Speak that I may see thee.” — Ben Jonson
Recent Comments
- sheila on “Superfluous people in the service of brute power….” — Ryszard Kapuściński
- Bill Wolfe on “Superfluous people in the service of brute power….” — Ryszard Kapuściński
- sheila on “Language most shows a man. Speak that I may see thee.” — Ben Jonson
- sheila on “Language most shows a man. Speak that I may see thee.” — Ben Jonson
- Jincy Willett on “Language most shows a man. Speak that I may see thee.” — Ben Jonson
- sheila on Mike Doughty, if you’re out there …
- Dan on Mike Doughty, if you’re out there …
- sheila on Mike Doughty, if you’re out there …
- Dan on Mike Doughty, if you’re out there …
- sheila on “Boredom is very important in life. It helps you feel when something is wrong.” — John Strasberg
- Bunky F. on “Boredom is very important in life. It helps you feel when something is wrong.” — John Strasberg
- sheila on Supernatural re-watch, Season 4
- Lyrie on Supernatural re-watch, Season 4
- sheila on Supernatural re-watch, Season 4
- sheila on Supernatural re-watch, Season 6
- sheila on Supernatural re-watch, Season 3
- Lyrie on Supernatural re-watch, Season 4
- Lyrie on Supernatural re-watch, Season 6
- Lyrie on Supernatural re-watch, Season 3
- sheila on Supernatural re-watch, Season 3
-
Tag Archives: poetry
“Is there any virtue, for literature, for poetry, in the simple continuity of a tradition? I believe there is not.” — Thomas Kinsella
The Dolmen Press, operated out of Dublin, was founded in 1951 by Liam Miller, and played a crucial part in the development of Irish poetry in the mid-20th century. It was a strictly nationalist operation; before The Dolmen Press, poets … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Austin Clarke, Ezra Pound, Ireland, Irish poetry, John Montague, Michael Schmidt, poetry, Seamus Heaney, Thomas Kinsella, W.B. Yeats
2 Comments
“Sometimes I think no matter how one is born, no matter how one acts, there is something out of gear with one somewhere, and that must be changed. Life at its best is a grand corrective.” –Jessie Redmon Fauset
“Better the wound forever seeking balm Than this gray calm!” –Jessie Redmon Fauset, from “Dead Fires” Jessie Redmon Fauset, whose birthday it is today, was a “forgotten writer” for many years, after her heyday in the 20s and 30s. Her … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Anne Spencer, Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, poetry
Leave a comment
When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim, / Hath put a spirit of youth in everything …
Today is (supposedly, roughly) the birthday of William Shakespeare. April 23, 1564. (Title of the post from Sonnet 98.) One of the things I think about when I think about Shakespeare, is my late great teacher Doug Moston, who died … Continue reading
Posted in On This Day, Theatre, writers
Tagged Ben Jonson, Ford Madox Ford, George Bernard Shaw, Michael Schmidt, poetry, Shakespeare, W.H. Auden
9 Comments
“We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.” — Louise Glück
It’s her birthday today. Louise Glück’s poetry sometimes hurts, touching wounds or fears and dreads so deep you don’t want to acknowledge they even exist. It feels like these things might overwhelm you if you give them any space. Glück … Continue reading
“The only cause I espouse is man’s right to find his own centre, stand firm, speak out, then be kind.” — Michael Davitt, “Dissenter”
Save your breath, Poem maker Keep it under wraps In the tall tree of yourself — Michael Davitt Both quotes above are English translations of the original Irish language versions, just to be clear. Poet Michael Davitt, born (on this … Continue reading
“Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
”I’ve always been much influenced by the 17th-century metaphysical poets like Donne, and especially Henry Vaughan.” — Philip K. Dick It’s Henry Vaughan’s birthday today. I was just thinking the other day about how I encountered certain famous writers in … Continue reading
“I trust contrariness. I simply rebelled at being commanded.” — Seamus Heaney
It’s his birthday today. Jean and I went to visit Siobhan in Ireland. Siobhan was in school, so while she was in classes Jean and I rented a car and drove across the country to Galway, and other Western points. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, Personal, writers
Tagged Belfast, Ireland, Irish poetry, poetry, Seamus Heaney
5 Comments
“For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
“For in my nature I quested for beauty, but God, God hath sent me to sea for pearls.” — Christopher Smart, from “Jubilate Agno” Christopher Smart, born on this day in 1722, spent over 10 years of his life locked … Continue reading
“Art indeed is long, but life is short.” — Metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell
“Andrew Marvell spans three ages like a delicate but serviceable bridge. The first length spans Charles I’s reign and fall, the second spans the Commonwealth, the third the Restoration.” — Michael Schmidt, Lives of the Poets It’s his birthday today. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Andrew Marvell, Camille Paglia, England, Harold Bloom, John Aubrey, Michael Schmidt, poetry, politics, Six Centuries of Great Poetry, T.S. Eliot
Leave a comment