Why Did All Those People Die?
W. D. Ehrhart, The Madness of It All: Essays on War, Literature, and American Life [2002] This is a collection of the Vietnam veteran and poet’s prose pieces up till 9.11. Some are quite short…
Author: Mark J. Chmiel
Check out Matt Taibbi on Substack
For the past year I have been a supporter of Matt Taibbi’s project, TK News, on Substack. Here’s a recent paragraph from his “Democrats Swoon Over George W. Bush, In Match Made in Hell”– A…
Say Yes!
Wednesday 22 September 2021 Dear J, It was energizing and inspiring to spend two-and-a-half hours with you yesterday at Hartford Coffee! I want to share a bit more with you about one of the books…
A Pair/1
Sunday Afternoon Sitting outside at Stella and Bella’s CafeThe Presidential debate two hours awayReading Su Tung-P’o’s bamboo poemWill Clinton deliver the knock-out blow?On my ballot, I’ll write in: Chuang Tzu Dharma Brother Wang Wei Devoted…
Keeping Our Mouths Shut, Our Minds at Peace
Some decades back New Directions published a series of slim Wisdom books that can still serve as an engaging introduction to several religious traditions. Earlier this year, I enjoyed Stephen Clissold’s The Wisdom of St…
What I Love about the US of America: Overture to an Unfinishable List
Martin Luther King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech, Riverside Church, NYC, April 1967; Route 50 in Nevada; Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass; Duke Ellington, “Take the ‘A’ Train”; Joey Neilsen, resister of Catholic high school homophobia; massive…
Being Present (Somehow)
1. Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who…
A Little Encouragement, Friday Morning
Three of you four gayOne married to Zionist royalty Whitman was awesomeWrote no-big-deal stuff too Reznikoff was superbYet suffered anonymity Ginsberg was world-influentialScribbled drivel sometimes You can (I know) write verse with vervePrompt a tear,…
Surrealism as a Way of Life
Robert Johnson played last night at that café on Sugar Street. Walt Whitman was detained after chanting “Song of the Open Road” at the Huwarra Checkpoint. Dorothy Day was photographed again just sitting in the…
Pursue Knowledge Even to China
The Content of Character: Ethical Sayings of the Prophet MuhammadCollected by Shaykh Al-Amin Mazrui Sarah Ali gave me this book as an expression of gratitude for writing her a letter of recommendation. We will discuss…