Views & Reviews
My Oscar Pick
The run-up to the Oscars this week – a “run-up” that seems to have lasted for months now – reminds me of a fundamental truth about awards shows: everybody needs a good movie to root for. I’m a little handicapped … Read more
“I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.”
A few weeks ago I shared a poem with you here called “I Knew a Woman,” by Theodore Roethke. I seem to be in my Roethke period. Whenever I read someone who says, better than I ever could, what I … Read more
My Lie-Lay Conundrum
I realize that one sign of impending codgerdom is the urge to rant – or even write a letter to the offending newspaper – when you spot an egregious grammatical error in print. Where have all the hawk-eyed copy editors … Read more
Twain on Dickens: “Only a Man”
Charles Dickens, probably the greatest nineteenth-century British novelist, is celebrating his 200th this week. Or would be if he were alive. This week I also happen to be working up a short seminar called “Mark Twain: The Man and His … Read more
A Thanks for Gordon Lightfoot
Here in Washington DC last week—the last week in January—the temperature hit 65 and the sky burned a fathomless blue. This could be just a harbinger of some climatological catastrophe in which the rivers dry up and the cows keel … Read more
Books in Print: They Don’t Smell
Books – that is, the old-fashioned kind (in print, between covers, a.k.a. dead-tree content) – are much on my mind this week. I’ve been reading Gary Shteyngart’s delightfully clever satirical novel of a dystopian future, Super Sad True Love Story, … Read more
TED THE CAT
Ted the Cat (1994-present) is a domestic shorthair blogger and vers libre poet. He also enjoys sleeping, eating, and lurking. Ted the Cat co-habits with Kaze,
also a blogger at 317am.net.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Kaze
Kaze is Washington DC area writing guru Steve Altman. The nickname is Japanese for “the wind.” Read more »
RasoirJ
Ras at Texas BBQ in DC, site of lunchtime chats with Kaze on the art and agony of writing. Ras is also known in some publishing circles as George Clack. Read more »