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Views & Reviews

My Oscar Pick

Photo of Oscar statue.

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.”

image of a color portrait of theodore roethke

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

Image of computer with lie-lay Post It notes.

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”

Photo of the older Charles Dickens.

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

image of Gordon Lightfoot back in the day

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

Photo of novelist Gary Shteyngart and girlfriend Mabel Hwang.

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 »