Monthly Archives: October 2017

(facsimile of Thoreau’s cabin near pond, Concord, Mass.; which I visited twice in the 1990s)

(death-mask of young John Keats) Much have I travelled in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse … Continue reading →

When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain, Before high-piled books, in charactery, Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain; When I behold, upon the night’s starred face, Huge … Continue reading →

(a distant memory) Early 1950s. Preschool age, likely 3. Union Station. Built by the architects who built Grand Central Station. The wonderful glorious massive dome so high. The panels of colorful alluring images of trains and places. The great clock … Continue reading →

(for my parents Rose and Del) A hot August night when I was 6 or 7. Travelling with my young cheerful aunt by bus across town with my parents to the CP station at the Royal Alexandra Hotel. Standing with … Continue reading →

An elderly Chinese man about 5’4″. Viewed sideways, a slightly pear shape to his figure. No one else in the garage on a warm Saturday afternoon. Quietly and painstakingly folding men’s pants on a table. Occasionally measuring them with a … Continue reading →

A dog day afternoon, dogsitting Saturday. Observation: The dog’s eyes constantly watching you. “What’s on now?” “Are you going to be sitting there for a while?” “Where are you going?” “Will you be back soon?” “Are we eating soon?”(one of … Continue reading →

Zero understanding or appreciation of history and other cultures (except natives, and that’s not heartfelt–that’s purely for political purposes). Imagine omitting references to anti-Semitism and the no. of Jews killed on a Holocaust monument!

Michelangelo. Just finished watching the outstanding 1949 b & w AA-winning documentary on his life and work. A real knockout. In terms of grandeur and significant output, he easily outdistanced Leonardo and everybody else in these three areas of Western … Continue reading →

T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”, of course, is one because it changed the course of modern poetry and dealt with the greatly-changed Western world after WWI. It embodied the angst and ambiguity of the early 20th century. Allen Ginsberg’s “Kaddish” … Continue reading →