Tag Archives: William Faulkner

“Paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey.” — William Faulkner on his writing requirements

“The writer’s only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one. He has a dream. It anguishes him so much he must get rid of it. He has no peace until then. … Continue reading

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“He who has never felt, momentarily, what madness is has but a mouthful of brains.” — Herman Melville

“Old nineteenth-century New England must have been fearful–in what other country would Thoreau, Melville, Whitman and Dickinson have been so overlooked?” — Robert Lowell, letter to Elizabeth Bishop, December 12, 1958 Herman Melville was born on this day in 1819. … Continue reading

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“I did not begin to write poetry in earnest until the really emotional part of my life was over.” — poet A.E. Housman

OUCH, A.E. OUCH. He was born in 1859 and he died in 1936. That generation saw so much change it boggles the mind, and I say that as a member of a generation which grew up sans internet – who … Continue reading

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“For I, the chiefest lamp of all the earth…” — Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine

Maybe this is him. I’m armed with more than complete steel, The justice of my quarrel. — Christopher Marlowe, Lust’s Dominion. Act iii. Sc. 4. Playwright, poet, prodigy, agent in Her Majesty’s secret service: the incomparable Christopher Marlowe was born … Continue reading

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“I find that I cannot exist without poetry—without eternal poetry—” –John Keats

I was just beautifying him, don’t you know. A thing of beauty, don’t you know. Yeats says, or I mean, Keats says. – James Joyce, Ulysses Born in 1795 on this day, John Keats was orphaned at fifteen. Because his … Continue reading

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Year in Review: Shooting My Mouth Off in 2017

It’s been a God-awful year in so many unprecedented ways. It’s also been a great year for me professionally (which has brought with it its own set of challenges.) Here are some of the things I’ve written this year. Reviews, … Continue reading

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For Film Comment: On Faulkner’s Tomorrow (1972), starring Robert Duvall

I wrote about the 1972 film Tomorrow, a Horton Foote adaptation of a William Faulkner story, starring Robert Duvall (same year as The Godfather) for Film Comment. It’s screening on TCM this month. Years ago, I remember my father talking … Continue reading

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December 2016 Viewing Diary

Supernatural, Season 7, Episode 22, “There Will Be Blood” (2012; d. Guy Norman Bee) I had started a re-watch of Season 7 in November, so I finished it out this month. Season 7 was one of my least favorites, when … Continue reading

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2016 Books Read

I’ve enjoyed myself this year with reading. I have finally bounced back from 2009 and 2010, when I was so out of my mind that I could barely read anymore. (Larry McMurtry describes a similar thing happening to him post-heart … Continue reading

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What You Need

Paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey. — William Faulkner on his writing requirements

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