a poem and some books

 

rocky and bullwinkle | Last Notes From a Tumbleweed Bastard

I finished writing this poem today. I’m living in a house with people who do not read that much poetry. So, you, dear reader, and the internet get to be the audience. Skip at will.

Untitled

My ghost is slipped inside you.
Its story does not change.
Old solid sighs, cold clotted cloth,
Tales tagged in bone and flesh.

Old voices sing inside me
They teach me who I am.
They bang my brain, beat my blood,
With wonder, words, and song.

Eileen seemed surprised I was writing a poem. I think I do write a poem once or twice a year. I usually post them here. Maybe I should have a page of them online. Maybe not.

Masha Gessen on Trump's 'Autocratic Attempt' on America | The Nation

I got a little crazy today and sent copies of Masha Gessen’s Surviving Autocracy to a bunch of family members. I will have to let them know I mailed copies to them since there were no gift options for it on Amazon. So they will just get a book out of the blue. I already told Jen I mailed her a copy in an unrelated email (she is honorary fam). I have an appointment to chat with Mark in a bit and I will tell him then. I’ll email the others.

Humankind: A Hopeful History - Kindle edition by Bregman, Rutger ...

This book came in the mail. It goes on the to read stack. I did finish Klein’s Why We’re Polarized. There were some interesting parts, but his mind and ideas do not impress me like Gessen does. I am hopeful about Rutger Bregman (above)

NYTimes: Vietnamese Lives, American Imperialist Views, Even in ‘Da 5 Bloods’

Spike Lee’s movie is available on Netflix. I have watched it. I like Lee’s work but thought this was a mixed bag. Viet Thanh Nguyen’s review makes  some salient critiques. One of them is that while people who are not African American do not get to use the word “nigger” lightly, Lee not being Vietnamese American doesn’t get to use the word “gook”. I do admire Nguyen’s work.

“White Noise,” by Emma Cline | The New Yorker

I’ve been working my way through the New Yorker Summer fiction issue. This is a bitter little tale. Hint: The main character, Harvey, fits Harvey Weinstein. And the stolen title is significant and totally intentional.

Emma Cline on Fictionalizing a #MeToo Villain | The New Yorker

I went looking for this article because at the bottom of the last page of short story it said: “NEWYORKER.COM Emma Cline on fictionalizing odious men,” which is a better description of the story.

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