Contemporary war is a bureaucratic and capitalistic enterprise that requires its bored clerks, soulless administrators, ignorant taxpayers, contradictory priests, and encouraging families. If we understood that a war machine is a pervasive system of complicity…
Diane di PrimaOLD AGE: The Dilemma most of what I’m writing not that interesting but the act of writing itself more compelling than ever ********* Dear Siobhan Thank you for your snail-mail, but I…
In one of my classes, we are reading a variety of books on the love of learning. I asked Irina (a nom de plume) if she’d be willing to share a few reflections on Zena…
Dear Candice, Yesterday, even as I was contemplating taking a break from Facebook, I noticed that there was an event calling for people to come downtown for a protest re: Ferguson. The goal was…
Dear CK Michael Dirda is one of my favorite bibliophiles. I have several of his books, which, like Mustich‘s tome, I regularly browse in utmost delight. This morning in his Bound to Please, I came…
Poetry as no big dealPoetry in 2 1/2 minutesPoetry to send to yr maPoetry as an escape into realityPoetry the realest it getsPoetry better than falling in lovePoetry the universal tribePoetry made of tears of…
Recently Yael asked me to share some favorite haiku writers, which I happily sent along, along with Yoel Hoffman’s book, Japanese Death Poems. I received the following response. 10/24/21 What a delight. Three big envelops all…
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, An Elegy to Dispel Gloom
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…
April 6, 2005 Dear Andrew, I recently finished a small book by Edward Said, Humanism and Democratic Criticism, and it made me think of many conversations we’ve had over the past couple of years. So…