The film The Great Debaters exceeds expectations. I want to go again. Here is some excellent commentary on the film by the Anxious Black Woman, and here is some information on the real life Melvin B. Tolson, a poet. We should all be so brave. It was I who taught Black Diamond his first lesson … More Melvin B. Tolson
Machiavelli, via Porch Dog: When evening arrives, I return home, and enter my study, and at the door I take off my daytime clothes, full of mud and filth, and I put on royal and curial robes. Having gotten dressed again appropriately, I enter the ancient courts of ancient men, where received lovingly by them, … More N. Machiavelli
I have my grandmother’s copy of Land of Little Rain, but I see that it is now a Google Book, a Virginia e-text, a part of the Berkeley SunSITE, and a Gutenberg e-book. This book describes things as they were in the nineteenth century when my various relatives arrived. At random: I like that name … More Mary Austin
From Kai Chang I had learned that there was Chinese writing on the walls on Angel Island but I have now discovered that this building is closed for renovation until at least 2009. It is an excellent island, however, with unique and arguably the best views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate. … More Angel Island
I am closing in on final grades for my very last class. The music for this is by Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, and other stars. For it we thank the Azgoddess. You should really click on the link. Being nearly finished with grades is so inspiring, I can almost recite a Christmas poem: A … More Trilce XIX
Dear Student: Your average is B+ but I have found a way to inflate it to A-. It is entirely clear to me that had you not been having post-Iraq nightmares you would have made a clean A. It is inverisimil to me that the Dean of Students will order me to excuse the absences … More Finals
Having been in Lafayette I took U.S. 90 home this weekend, sharing the green road with trucks loaded with sugar cane. Driving leisurely through the sun in Lafourche Parish I saw a turtle, an armadillo, and an alligator, and a rat. The feeling of proximity to New Orleans begins on the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge, … More Paroisse de Lafourche
James Baldwin died November 30, 1987, twenty years ago today. I was having a traumatic semester and I did not take note of his passing, but he has always been one of my favorite writers, so I will take note of it today. This post is intended as a James Baldwin Video Aggregator. CSPAN Baldwin … More James Baldwin
Esta tarde llueve, como nunca; y no tengo ganas de vivir, corazón. Esta tarde es dulce. Por qué no ha de ser? Viste gracia y pena; viste de mujer. Esta tarde en Lima llueve. Y yo recuerdo las cavernas crueles de mi ingratitud; mi bloque de hielo sobre su amapola, más fuerte que su “No … More Heces de César Vallejo
Where has my language gone? The poet searches for words to wrap around these times Make them sense Make them pretty Make them useful Words from the past haunt our conversations Empire and Crusade Plans and Centuries All these words cleared understanding before Fall heavy now And weightless into this abyss of bad news I … More Beyond Words
coldhearted scientist وداد 