Eileen is back in town tomorrow evening. I have missed her immensely and will be very glad to have her back home. It looks like Elizabeth and Alex will be arriving on Monday from China. They had originally looked at visiting Sarah and her fam in England, but concerns about having all the children together when apparently both Alice and Lucy are not well outweighed doing that visit. Of course, part of why Elizabeth and Alex are leaving China is the current Coronavirus scare.

I’m sad to see people I love stressed, but it will be fun to have Elizabeth and Alex around.

On the way home from church today I stopped at the library to pick up a couple of holds.

Essential X-men volume 10 which is a very hefty tome.

An Anthropology of Marxism by Cedric J. Robinson. I’m not planning on reading this, but I will put it in my personal annotated bibliography.

I have been trying to expand my daily Greek study beyond just translating two lines of Homer daily. I feel like I have more grammar to learn and my retention of vocab is not very good. I am plunging deeper into grammar including reading my copy of The Greek Particles by  J. D. Denniston (second edition).

My copy of this is a lovely old Oxford hardback but no slip cover.

I’ve also been reading in Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners by Clyde Pharr, revised by John Wright and going back and doing readings from chapters in my Joint Association of Classical Teachers’ (JACT) Greek course.

Today at staff meeting Greek came up. Jim Steen had a theory that the translations of Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 2: 22-40) had been emended to be more politically correct by changing a singular pronoun to a plural pronoun. He felt that the “Purification” which is sometimes associated with trips to the Temple by women who have recently given birth was what was happening in the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple story. It was fun to pull up the Greek inter linear version online and check. In the Greek, the pronouns are all plural referring to Joseph and Mary as Jesus’s parents so Mary is  not being singled out in anyway. I didn’t bother doing any more checking on this. It was just talk at the staff meeting.

This morning looking for something to exercise to, I stumbled across this. I’m not sure why, but Doniger’s name seemed familiar. Even after learning more about her, I still can’t place if I have heard of her before this lecture. However, she is brilliant and this is a great story of her life as a scholar and teacher.

I skyped with Eileen yesterday. I think it raised my spirits to learn that she thought being apart for three weeks was one week too long. I previously suspected that she was in a sort of pig heaven with two grand daughters and that returning home would be a bit of a downer. . For my part, I miss her tremendously, but at the same time I have to work at not withdrawing completely into a comfortable solitary studying and practicing.

YouTube continues to be a wonderful resource for me. I’m going ahead and embedding a couple of videos despite their length with the idea that there’s no need for you, dear reader, to necessarily watch any of them.

I’m about halfway through Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James. I continue to find his work satisfying and a nice antidote to the anodyne life of living in Holland.

James mentioned Le Guin in this talk and it reminded me that I wanted to read straight through the lovely books my brother gave me a couple Christmas ago.

So I started Rocannon’s World by her.

I have been breaking my morning pattern in more than one way. Since reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman recently and doing so in only a few sittings, I am reminded of the satisfaction of prolonged exposure to a story. I often read books a little bit at a time, daily. This affords me a lot of variety in my daily routine. However, I think it’s also fun to engage deeply in a book, especially fiction, so that’s what I’ve been doing with Le Guin and James.

Bacevich has a new book. He’s an author I have learned from.

Reader’s World, the bookstore in downtown Holland, called to tell me that my Norton 2 Volume Bible has arrived.

When I pick it up, I plan on purchasing Bacevich’s book or ordering it. Since it’s current, I suspect it will be on the shelf. I will put it next to A Thousand Small Voices: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism by Adam Gopnik and begin reading it right after finishing Gopnik. I over half way through Gopnik at this point and should be done with it soon.

I recommend Bacevich’s Politics and Prose lecture. He is informed and is a practiced public speaker who exhibits intelligence and good humor.

Amazingly, I slept in this morning. I was out late last night (for me). I had a lovely meal with Scott and Barb Anderson. Afterwards, we all went to hear Alfredo Martinez and Pedro Martinez.

This morning I found this Paste video from Feb of last year. I went looking after listening to their album Duologue on Spotify.

In the afternoon, I had attended their master class. I was disappointed that they hadn’t engaged the students better. They seem like good-natured, talented me, but they basically asked for questions. In the video, they do a better job being interviewed. I did remark to Scott and Barb (who were not there at the masterclass) they would have benefited from a moderator and a bit more intimate set-up with the students. When i have attended masterclasses in other places, the students are set-up on the stage with the presenters.

Many years ago, at Wayne State, I attended a master class with Aaron Copland (!). It was set-up that way. And even with all of us being very intimidated to be in his presence the interchange was fruitful.

I had fun listening to Rodriguez an Martinez at the concert, but. In the afternoon, the balance was heavy on percussion. I didn’t see a mic on the piano until the evening performance and then as far as I could tell, there was only one and the balance was still not as good as on the recording or the video above.

Quincy Jones produced their album. Here is a picture of him and Rodriguez.

Honestly, I think the album is exquisite and Jones probably had something to do with that. Rodriquez and Martinez spoke highly of Quincy Jones both at the master class and the concert. I recognized stuff from their concert when I listened to their record. Of course, the recording was cleaner than the live performance. But these days I expect a better mix in a live performance than they had last night.

The Paste recording so far (i’m listening as I type) is much better mixed than their live performance. On the record, there are lots of over dubs which they couldn’t replicate in person without more personnel. I liked their sound more on the record and even on the Paste recording above.

On the recording and the video, I could hear more clearly their Cuban style. Scott and Barb are big Buena Vista Social Club fans (as am I). After the concert, I said that Rodriquez and Martinez were the grand kids  of the Beuna Vista Social Club. This comes through clearer in the record and video.

Rodriguez has a monster skill on the piano and he features it both live and in the recordings.

I take back what I said about the mixing on the Paste video. In the second number Martinez inexplicably moved next to the piano and you can’t hear what he is doing at all. This probably didn’t make the engineer very happy. But the other performances are back in balance.

I do like their music.

As I was getting ready to exercise this morning, my daughter, Elizabeth, called me from China. It was late there and early here (not that early since I slept in). We chatted until she was too tired to continue. I was a bit surprised at how talking with her raised my already happy spirits. I miss my kids and love it when I can connect with them.

I’m wrapping this up but I have to say that the phrase Martinez uses to describe the way he and Rodriguez play together, “cognitive consonance,” is very, very cool. It is a good way to describe the pleasure and joy of doing music especially with other people.

Friday afternoon in Holland, Michigan, it’s rainy and cold.

I exercised to this video this morning.

It’s kind of long. I thought that though he is a little too much into the economic metaphors for life, he had some interesting observations. It helped me get through my morning routine.

I went to practice organ before  my shrink appointment. He changed the time to a bit later than usual so I had forty minutes or so. I am going to have to practice organ more because I have upcoming presentations and have also scheduled some cool pieces for upcoming services. I am enjoying spending time at the instrument. I still can’t believe this excellent, world class instrument is at my disposable.

I had a good session with my therapist this morning. He helped me see that while I don’t identify with groups in quite the way many people do, that I do have a sort of tribe. This consists of family and a few friends.

My violinist texted me and my cellist that she needed to cancel our rescheduled meeting. I didn’t see the text until about ten minutes after we were to meet. No worries. I has hungry so I went home and had lunch.

I am planning on walking over to Hope for a 4:30 PM master class with Pedrito Martinez, percussion, and pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, the performers I am planning to go hear this evening. I’m meeting Scott and Barb Anderson for drinks and food before the concert.

I miss Eileen but life is good.

Radiohead Public Library

Apparently Radiohead is now making all their music available for free online. Cool.

NYTimes: Architect of C.I.A. Interrogation Program Testifies

This guy is still among the deluded.

Last night’s choir rehearsal was very satisfying. The choir has buckled down and risen to some challenging pieces this season to nicely mix contradictory metaphors.  Last Sunday, we sang John Tavener. Next Sunday we are doing a fine arrangement by Undine Moore of “I believe this is Jesus.” We worked hard on that last night and it was sounding very good. Then we ended the rehearsal working intensely on a William Byrd setting, Teach Me O Lord, which is very beautiful. When the choir digs in like this it reminds me why I find this part of my work so rewarding.

Ezra Klein has a new book coming out, Why We’re Polarized. In his latest podcast, he reads from it. If I understand correctly, Klein describes our polarization as one of identity and not primarily convictions. He cites all kind of science for this. And it aligns with much of my own understandings about the basic evolutionary instinct bred in all humans to be part of a group that is best defined by who is not in the group.

My problem is that when I examine my own life long sense of who I am,   though I think of myself as having a clear strong one it is not one that has easily aligns with specific groups.

I have been thinking a lot about isolation and the connection between having strong relationships with other people and living longer. Klein cites studies that point loneliness produces harmful physiological changes in the body.

However he also cites studies that support an increase in tolerance when one has cross allegiances to differing groups.

Anyway, I have pre-ordered his book as an Audible book.

I have known people who have clearly defined identities such as Irish Catholic, Dutch Calvinist, and so on. I can remember one such person (an RC priest) asking me pointblank if I had never wanted to be part of a group. I had to confess that I didn’t have an impulse in that manner.

I’m working on what this means for me. I have some ideas. My Father and his Father have always seemed to me as a bit of outsiders in their profession of ministry. And I have admired them for this. My own relationship to church seem to disintegrate in my youth. I can remember some formative experiences. One was a Church of God youth convention during which I learned that the denomination was half African American but that there were few mixed congregations. This was in the late sixties so the context of this discussion was a very turbulent America. It was along about this time that I began to perceive my own disenchantment with what I had experienced of church.

I’m talking about this because it seems to me that religion is a primary group that people identify with in Klein’s terms.

I have been drawn to beauty in my life. This may have something to do with some early experiences as a child I barely remember. I’m thinking here of a friend of my parents in Tennessee named Elizabeth (that’s all I can remember) who took me on “nature walks.” I think this may have heightened my appreciation and even passion for beauty at a formative time.

My passions for music, poetry, history, the humanities, visual arts, and the like may be connected this. But most of my life  I have found myself choosing paths that are unique and not ones heavily under-girded with like minded people or groups.

Playing music with friends in Rock bands and my graduate degree were exceptions to this. But the people involved and I have largely become disconnected.

I can remember thinking that when people pursued doctoral degrees, their study, especially the final oral examination before a committee, felt like they had to demonstrate a clear willingness to approach their field in the manner prescribed by their teachers and the general field. I see the sense in this, but it always repelled me slightly and had the feel of passing initiation into a sort of good old boy club, as indeed many fields have been. Hopefully this is changing.

Anyway, you can see I’m chewing on this and I have more ideas than need to be written down here right now. Fortunately, I have an appointment with my therapist tomorrow. I hope I can find a way to talk to him about this.

On a related topic, it seems that my social life as a temporary bachelor is picking up a bit. I am meeting Scott and Barb Anderson (mentioned here recently) for supper tomorrow night before the Great Performance Series. And on Sunday, I will have lunch with other church members after Eucharist for our Annual Meeting. And then my friend Rhonda has invited me over for supper that evening with her and her family.

Not bad for a hermit.

So now I have another reason to blog. Eileen is reading my blogs. This is something she doesn’t usually do since they are redundant with my incessant babble.

I am a hundred pages or so into Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Road. I had weird dreams last night and wonder if the two are related.

Last night my Dad was in my dream and he was dead. For some reason I had his body in the back of my car and was driving around. It seems that I visited two hospitals. Eileen and Sarah were at the first hospital. Sarah wanted to play a word game with me on her computer. Then, I think I was looking for someone to take my blood pressure at a different hospital. In both cases Dad’s body just happen to be along. Also weirdly I was rolling his body around on a gurney as I tried to get someone to help me at the second hospital. I stepped away from him for a moment. When I returned a portly nurse/guard had rigged him up as though he were a patient with a very elaborate blood pressure device. This included little posts that seemed to be screwed into his skin over which a rubber tube ran. I began yelling that he was dead. At the same time I noticed that Dad was sitting up and yelling nonsense at a couple of near by people. He was louder than me. The nurse/guard seemed very distressed and looked as though he were going to pull a gun on me. I leaned over and whispered it to Dad’s ear that everything was alright. Despite the fact that Dad was talking and moving, I told the nurse he had been dead for a week and a half but if he, the nurse, could get him respond to go for it.

It was a exactly a nightmare. But it was weird and a bit upsetting.

The night before I dreamed I was chatting with a man at some sort of religious conference. Noticing that some of my children in the dream were quickly picking up and using “God” language I said something about how I am practically an atheist and didn’t appreciate the indoctrination of my children. The man who vaguely resembled Neil Gaiman and I seem to hit it off. I might be remembering this wrong since it was before I found the Neil Gaiman video I posted yesterday. I told the dream guy my name and asked him his. He was slow to tell me. His first name was Birch but his surname was more complicated and started with AT…. . I tried to write it down and noticed that it was written on the wall behind him in English and then spelled out in Greek. It was obviously a Greek name. I told him that I was learning Greek. He told me the study of ancient Greek was something he especially enjoyed. I was getting very enthused about meeting him in the dream. I had found someone to talk to. I asked him where he lived and it turned out that he lived near my grand kids in Southern California. I told him I would like to work my annual visit to them around times we could get together.

I woke and found this dream very amusing.

Tuesday are days I get to pretty much do what I want. Today that will be studying and reading. (Surprise) I didn’t get to the library yesterday but I did clear the steps of snow for my student’s visit. I’ll probably go out today in the car to pick up a prescription and possibly some groceries. That trip will include a library stop, I’m sure.

I brought my Vaughan Williams scores home. I have been listening to his Oboe Concerto quite a bit. I have a score and a piano accompaniment of it.

I miss Eileen but I’m doing okay.

I guess I have a new compelling reason to write here. With Eileen staying in England for a few weeks, I literally have no one to talk to. I’m trying to resist slipping into hermit mode. So I thought I would yammer here a bit.

it has been snowing quite a bit here in Holland.

On Saturday I knocked down the huge ridges the sidewalk plow leaves in everyone’s driveway so I could pull out my loaner vehicle from Subaru to drive to the Farmers Market.

I didn’t drive anywhere yesterday. I trudged through the snow to get to church on foot as usual.

Today, the driveway is still full of snow. I have thoughts of walking to the library to pick up some holds there. I am resolved to clean the steps so that my equally elderly student can safely make it to my door this afternoon.

The choir seemed to enjoy singing John Tavener setting of Blake’s The Lamb yesterday.

Here’s the video I suggested to help them learn this lovely little piece. We sang it slow but not as slow as this video.

I have to say they did a fine job on it, mostly a cappella. I played compositions by Ad Wammes for the prelude and postlude. Here’s a video of the composer playing Les Cloche III which was my postlude. In this case, I went a bit slower yesterday but basically nailed it.

I received some interesting compliments yesterday. My violinist who used to attend Grace Church regularly years before I began as the music guy has been showing up occasionally for Eucharist. She was there yesterday and commented about the Tavener. I can’t remember exactly what she said but it was flattering.

This was especially satisfying in retrospect since often I can’t tell what other musicians think of my work.

Speaking of my work, Barb Anderson, a soprano in the choir and reader of this blog (Hi Barb!) said something nice to me yesterday that I barely registered at the time. I think it was in response to my description of Sarah Jenkins and Matthew Locke as artists. Barb told me that what I did (presumably at church) was art and that I was an artist.  Her husband, Scott, who also sings in the choir and reads this blog (Hi Scott!) concurred.

It was until later that it hit me what a huge compliment this was and that it helps to know that someone is sort of getting what I do (Thank you, Barb and Scott!).

I feel like my approach to church music is different from most other church musicians especially organists. I’m doing a certain amount of guessing since of course my colleagues are serving their own communities and not around when I lead services. This is one of the reasons Martin Pasi’s praise for how we pray at Grace blew me away since despite having eclectic tastes himself he is deeply embedded in the classical organ world.

My violinist yesterday was chatting with a previous choral director when she complimented me. The director said nothing. I was very flattered that my violinist chose to compliment in front of another choir director.

I think that  “less is more” in accompanying group singing.   I try to accompany a congregation the same way I would accompany a instrumental soloist or a singer. This means playing with people in  ensemble, listening (taking their pulse) and adjusting on the spur of the moment, all of which activity I happen to love.

I bogged down this morning over submitting music for next Sunday. It took me an hour or two. This included rewriting an old music note from three years ago (same readings, but some different hymns this time). But it’s done now.

the Library of Congress posted this video recently of an event back in December. Except for Michelle Miller who moderates at one point, I enjoyed this immensely and am planning to see what books I can get hold of related to some of the stuff I learned in this video.

Stumbled across this. I enjoyed this chat between Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry so much  I have already started reading my copy of  The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Opinion | The Injustice of This Moment Is Not an ‘Aberration’ – The New York Times

GUSTAV LEONHARDT PEDAGOGY ARCHIVE

I met Mark and Leigh for lunch today In Grand Rapids  (Hi Rhonda, I know I said I was meeting them in Lansing but Leigh had to take her potter’s wheel to a guy in GR for some adjusting so we met in GR.) Mark chose a restaurant and it ended up being right across from the Subaru dealer.

I had to take my Subaru to the dealer. We have been having problems with our car’s security alarm going off randomly. I pulled the fuse so the horn doesn’t start blaring out at odd times. The lights still flash and the doors all lock when this happens. I made the appointment a few days ago so of course it quit doing it. The dealer doesn’t seem to be able to diagnose a problem unless it actually occurs while they are looking at it. So there are keeping it again for a while and providing a fancy dancy loaner to me in the meantime (2020 Subaru).

I took along a bunch of CDs including works by Vaughan Williams who has been doing for me lately. My choir is singing a Nunc by him soon. And of course new cars tend to have splendid sound systems. Fun.

I had some time to kill while waiting for Mark and Leigh so I went to Schulers bookstore which is not far from the Subaru dealer.

Yesterday, I ordered three books from Readers World.

I interlibrary loaned the Norton Critical Edition of the English Bible and decided I needed to own a copy. It comes in two volumes one for the Old Testament and one for the New. I checked out the cost and it turned out that purchasing paperback editions new wasn’t that much more. I ordered it from Readers World yesterday.

I also ordered a deluxe edition of Watchmen by Moore and Gibbons. As I reported in the last post, I have finished my second read of it and am planning a third. I thought I would like to have my own copy.

So today as I went into Schuler’s Bookstore I resolved only to look at used books. Unfortunately within minutes I had already found three books to purchase. I panicked and left before I found more. I found a relatively recent collection of Robert Bly’s poetry, Stealing Sugar from the Castle for five bucks in paperback,

what looked to be a bio of Roddy Doyle’s parents by himself, Rory & Ita, for six bucks,

and one hardback, A Company of Readers: Uncollected Writings of W. H. Auden, and Lionel Trilling from the Readers’ Subscription and Mid-Century Book Clubs.

$7.50 for this one. Anyway, as I say, I panicked at how easily I found books to buy and left.

After a nice lunch with Mark and Leigh and the trek home I am safely ensconced in my house reading and practicing.

I watched most of this video this morning. Some interesting stuff in it. Apparently there is going to be a new version of the musical 1776 coming out. Lepore was involved with it which is reassuring.

David Bromberg is someone I admire. It was fun to stumble across this recent performance he did. There’s more of these on YouTube.

I watched this recently. Frankfurt is now on my list of writers to read.

I posted links to this writer. I asked Mark about her today since he is planning to take a writing seminar from her. Apparently, she doesn’t buy transhumanism and mounts a critique of it. I found her approach put me off a bit since it began by describing  her fundamentalist upbringing and education, her conversion to atheism, and her new found enthusiasm for transhumanism (which apparently she lost). I guess it’s my own fault for not having patience for her.

I had a similar experience when I tried to read her article in Granta. However, I did notice it was well written. I think most Granta pieces (essays, poems, stories) are usually very well written. Just my opinion.

I was chatting on the phone with my brother, Mark, today and he informed that Amazon owns Abebooks.com.  How discouraging. He also said that the same books at either site will be priced differently. He mentioned Betterworldbooks.com as a good alternative that is not evil.

He and I agreed that using Amazon.com and Abebooks.com is still in both our future despite their evilness. But when possible it’s nice to buy a bit less evil.

I miss my wife but I enjoy my solitude.

Today I was reading Park Honan’s Shakespeare: A Life. He mentioned the translation of Ovid that Shakespeare was probably taught from (as well as learning to read the Latin original).I thought it might fun to look at it. After a little poking around I found a newish edition that was published in 2000. It was sitting on the shelves at the library and is now in my grubby little hands.

I do love libraries.

Here’s a quote I heard recently and liked:

“Expletives are language spice. Sometimes they are too hot, but sometimes they are just right.” Marlon James link 40:08

I am still reading a dozen or so books at once and enjoying that. I also have found some pretty cool stuff on YouTube to listen to as I exercise. The video linked in the quote above is one of them.

I am reading James’ Black Leopard Red Wolfe and enjoying it. I finished a reread of Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I am rewatching the TV series and enjoying it.

Writing — Meghan O’Gieblyn

Mark mentioned this writer today. She is giving a workshop at this year’s Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing conference.  (The link for the workshop above is to all of them. You have scroll down to find OGieblyn).

Emily Wilson is scheduled to be at this conference. Or so it says on her website. I can’t find it on the Calvin website  but it’s still updating.

I have  more links but it’s time to quit and read.

So Eileen made it safely to Calvert Green, England. According to her the flight was  ok. She has been suffering from sciatic nerve pain. She purchased a slight upgrade to get ore room and that seems to have made a difference.

I’m on my own here in Holland from three weeks. Maybe this means I will return to posting her more often. Who knows?

I had my first therapist appointment of 2020 today. I was not happy to learn that he didn’t know who Paul Robeson or Andrew Wyeth was.

So for the record:

Paul Leroy Robeson (/ˈroʊbsən/ ROHB-sən; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass baritone concert artist and stage and film actor who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political activism.

I stumbled across a 1977 Documentary about him recently in two parts on YouTube.

Robeson was a bit of a genius and years ahead of his time in regards to speaking up for the rights of African Americans as well as many other downtrodden people.

He is an American treasure and part of our heritage that we all should know.

I brought up Andrew Wyeth to my therapist because on the drive down I noticed the browns and reds of the bulging bulrushes and stark vegetation looked like an Andrew Wyeth painting.

He’s another American treasure.

Jes sayin.

I have been neglecting my blog. I seem to have enough to do without posting here, but it’s time for a little catch-up.

The big news is that I have a new granddaughter, Alice Jenkins Locke. She is beautiful. Eileen is preparing to get on a plane today and fly to England to help Sarah (the mom) and Matthew (the dad). I will miss her but I am glad that she has time and the money to go. It will be a good thing.

Here’s a great pic from today showing Lucy (the new big sister) and Alice.  I love this picture.

I continue to spend a lot of time reading and playing music. I finished Alan Moore’s Jerusalem. I think it is excellent. and as you might expect, very very clever.

I also have been doing a little listening to the Watchmen Podcast.

I am almost through a reread of the original Watchmen.

I guess I’m reading a lot of Alan Moore lately. I think I want to buy a copy of this one. I’m reading the library’s copy. I am thinking that I will go for a third read on this soon and would like to have my own copy.

I’m still working another read of Finnegans Wake by Joyce, but in the meantime, this morning I picked up Gifford and Sedman’s Ulysses Annotated. I discovered that they correlate Homer very carefully. Looking at the first section I was able to pull out my notes about the Greek and read lines they mention in the Greek. WooHoo! I remember the beginning section so well that I didn’t need to refer to Joyce’s text as I read the annotations.

My brother gave me this incredibly beautiful edition of Blake’s Divine Comedy.

I have been slowly working my way through it, reading the excellent articles. I continue on my second read of the Divine Comedy itself. I have landed on the Dorothy L. Sayers translation for this second read and am loving  the Birk Sanders version.

I’m also delving into Robert Alter’s wonderful translations of the Psalms and the First Five Books of Moses. You can see why I haven’t been getting to the blog.

Eileen and I have been staying with my brother and his wife since last Sunday. It gives me a chance to get out of town and see people I love. There’s been plenty of time for reading and playing my sister-in-law’s wonderful piano.

I have been thinking a lot about retirement. I continue to enjoy my work. But my boss’s recent hiatus due to a cancer scare brought home to me how important it is to me to work with someone who can “handle” me. Also, my interests in non-work related stuff is blooming. I purchased a wonderful 2 volume set of T. S. Eliot for me to unwrap on Christmas day.

Shortly thereafter I searched for Christopher Ricks (one of the editors) and found some wonderful lectures by him on YouTube.

I’ll put them here since I told my brother I would make it clear which ones I have listening to and benefiting from.

I have listened to the first one of these twice already. I am loving the edition and it’s good to go through Eliot’s poetry again after reading a couple of bios and now having the Ricks/McCue notes.

Ricks’ lecture on the sounds of Eliot’s poetry has blown me away. He has sent me scurrying to Tennyson as well. I had no concept of how masterful Tennyson’s use of sound and diction is.

Another thing I learned from Ricks is that even though the OED continues to update online everything three months, if you look carefully you can access the original second edition online.

Here is the example Ricks cites in his note, “OED and the present edition” Poems vol 1 p. 1252.

Here is the way Jazz is presently defined in the online OED.

Ricks says in his notes that he accessed this 2014. It remains unchanged as far I can see. But, Ricks also points out how it read in the second edition.

The changes between the two are radical including what quotes are included and why.

I took me some poking around before I could figure out how to access the second edition on line.

I have circled the link above. I find this very valuable and am glad that the OED is allowing access to previous edition for comparison of changes. How cool is that?