I love Alberto Rios! His vision, generously shared, in accessible and delightful manner is a joy to read. Take for example, "Desert Bestiary Sonnet, OI love Alberto Rios! His vision, generously shared, in accessible and delightful manner is a joy to read. Take for example, "Desert Bestiary Sonnet, One". I do not live in the SouthWest or near a desert... but I love the first line, "Hummingbirds are quarter notes that have left the nest of the flute." 14 animals, each becoming something extraordinary -- I will never be scared of a tarantula now, knowing they are "awkward left hands in search of a piano." Some of my favorites: "When Giving is All You Have"; "Stardust and Centuries" -- with its epigraph: "We listen for so long in our lives until one day//we push back our chairs and stand to speak". Indeed, I sense someone who has listened long and well -- and thought hard -- imagine -- as a man, understanding "I am half woman on my mother's side." -- and then all women... and all people become candidates for beings of worth-- the products of the best we can be." The same idea comes up in the poem, "The Who that I am" and "Hands on the Wall of a Church"
The title poem explains light... beginning with fire and ends with explaining how "the sky comes so slowly in the morning/still unsure of what is there" -- how the fire wanted to come home /with something of its own/to tell/ and it did/ a small piece of blue in its mouth."
For a glimpse at ourselves... I love the refreshing honesty in "Not me" -- tongue in cheek admissions of growing older.
There is nothing better than starting a day with Alberto Rios. He reminds me to open my eyes, see compassionately the possibilities our world provides. ...more
For book club in Feb. 2020. One of the ladies knows the author! Sadly, will miss the discussion. Well told and the sort of book I would not have read For book club in Feb. 2020. One of the ladies knows the author! Sadly, will miss the discussion. Well told and the sort of book I would not have read have read had there not been a reason. This entry not so much about the book, the telling, the content, but that there is so much to read, and needing the time to read what must be read first to be able to carry on the weekly teaching....more
I was lucky enough to have Prof. Arnheim at University of Michigan the year after his revised edition of this book came out. It was a life-changer forI was lucky enough to have Prof. Arnheim at University of Michigan the year after his revised edition of this book came out. It was a life-changer for me. I had no idea that 25 years later I would become a docent at the art museum. Seeing, is a creative act... one we require and associate with understanding. His opening sentence of the introduction is as true today as it was in 1954 or 1974. Art may seem to be in danger of being drowned by talk. "The inborn capacity to understand through the eyes has been put to sleep and must be reawakened." How refreshing to start off understanding that "gestalt" the common German noun for shape or form, has been applied since the 20th century to experiments in sensory perception. The appearance of any element depends on its place and function in an overall pattern. All perceiving is also thinking.... all reasoning is also intuition... all observation is also invention... It isn't analyzing the lines, shapes, colors... but the mood, dynamics they create... I must re-read this book -- I know I use what I learn from it now, almost 50 years after I first encountered it as I guide people to observe balance, shape, form, orientation in space, line, contour, light, color, movement, dynamics... expression. ...more
Small town life on the Northern plains... high school, bullies, posturing and a peak into a life I would never want to have to live. Did not so much rSmall town life on the Northern plains... high school, bullies, posturing and a peak into a life I would never want to have to live. Did not so much read, as fly through the pages, hoping things would turn out differently, only to see what started out as a "coming of age of a young girl" story turn into a nightmare of "maybe" taking wrong turns. The power of a bully is frightening... I have never understood the desire to lord over others, from tease to cruelty to harm, nor does the behavior of Josie seem possible. I'm not convinced that the strong-headed young lady in the opening pages would have chosen a Matt. Tom's idealism seems out of place. Until this story, "maybe" always felt like a sign of hope. This is not a story to read to restore any confidence in human nature.
One of the bookclub members knows the author. I'm curious what others will think. ...more
Most everyone in the book group reading this loved it, and repeated the blurbs on the back of the book. For sure, Kathleen Rooney researched the languMost everyone in the book group reading this loved it, and repeated the blurbs on the back of the book. For sure, Kathleen Rooney researched the language of the 1930's, captures the spirit of an independent woman who is a woman's libber of the best sort in this period. I was glad for the notes in the back and did look up Margaret Fishback and enjoyed Rooney's article thoroughly. I found Kathleen Rooney absolutely delightful in her article on the “real Lillian�, Margaret Fishback. it is excellent, and brings Margaret alive in a way I would have liked to see in the novel � It’s like re-reading the book but without the annoyance I felt at the veneer encasing the character of Lillian.
I am so grateful for discussions! The comments helped me revamp my opinion of Lillian as too pat a heroine, one too glibly, acerbically, pompously egocentric� but then, yesterday, doing a bit of research following the suggestions in the notes in the back � I am reminded of the creation of a voice from a century ago �( yes 19th Amendment is 100 years � and Susan B celebrates her 200th �). is not to be criticized for not expressing empathy, embracing vulnerability and all we have learned have a rightful place in our 21st century world...
Somehow, the fictional account jarred my 21st century woman's sensibilities... little things like "postcards have no rain" (and so I looked up old postcards, and found some that do), name dropping (Wallace Stevens, “le monocle de mon oncle�),over-playing with alliteration, at first felt tedious and overdone. When by page 108, all that Lillian Boxfish experiences “all her studied mannerisms drift in different directions�, I feel hopeful that she will finally show some authenticity.
I’m glad she practices the religion of civility in the last third of the book, falls in love and has to reneg on sneering at love. Again at page 143, as she tries to wheedle a place at Delmonico’s without a reservation and fails, I feel hopeful, as she explains what she hoped very much, “clarity, focus� but her message is undercut by the selves of all the people she’s been.� I loved the tender moment of reading her letter to Max (a real document), felt nauseous reading the hideous questionnaire pulled from the "Women in Cosmetic Advertising" (1939); was cheering for Lillian holding on to her original title of her book (O! Do Not Ask for Promises); crying for her during her nervous breakdown...
I enjoyed this interview too, probably because our book discussion prepared me. I LOVE the idea of being a “flâneuse� � a practitioner of joyful and aimless urban walks� and much as Kathleen studied the period and captured the “Dorothy Parker voice”…however I wonder how Margaret Fishback would have liked how she is shadowed as Lillian, and how she would have described her "Solvitur Ambulando"(solve by walking) and the sights and strangers she encountered�
I must have read this when I was 7 or 8, a few years after it was published in 1955. My grandparents met at the Dormans' house in Beirut... and how coI must have read this when I was 7 or 8, a few years after it was published in 1955. My grandparents met at the Dormans' house in Beirut... and how cool that the author, Belle, is Pril Dorman's Aunt, and that Pril married my uncle, the youngest child of my grandparents! I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading it. The jacket is absolutely spot on-- "Belle Dorman (one of my grandmother's students!) has told the story of an American family in the Near East in a delightfully warm and humorous manner. With the vivid memory of her own childhood in Lebanon to draw upon, she writes with an intimate knowledge of the country, and a rare insight into the ways of young people. The boys, whose ages range from 3 to 13 and 10-year old Boadie are completely at home in this Arab country, and accept the manners and customs of its people with poise and understanding."
Humor: that Dorothy, (alias Boadie, her Nickname) says she named herself in the tradition of the Amatans! (you won't find information about that tribe in any encyclopedia). The Edmund, ressembles the Edmund of C.S. Lewis, spoiled and stuffing himself with cupcakes they way I imagine Edmund gorging himself on Turkish Delight in the Narnia tales. Who wouldn't want a governess like Ms. Dunbar? The rescue mission for "Bouncy" and his transformed name of "Argos" when Edmund hears the story of "Useless" (Ulysses); the lovely detail of Latifa, the little Bulbul bird who settles on the goatherd, Braheem's hat when he plays his pipes.
Beirut intrigues me... apparently "safe" to visit, although no longer the "Paris of the Middle East". I am working on a speculative poem that takes place there (started in Oct. 2019), influenced by Naomi Shihab Nye, one of my favorite poets, after reading her book, "The Tiny Journalist"....more
Fascinating story which could have profited from better editing. The interview with the author was much more interesting than the book, which seemed iFascinating story which could have profited from better editing. The interview with the author was much more interesting than the book, which seemed intent on revealing Virginia Hall as the single-handed savior, organizing the Resistance, establishing safe routes for the flight of Jews, giving essential information to undermine German offensives, etc. Although I quarreled with the writing style, a certain glib use of cliché, and felt the book could have been shortened, I am left with haunting memories of Virginia Hall’s personality and her work in World War II, her immense personal courage and determination, and how she broke through the barriers of physical limitation and gender discrimination as a spy.
I find it disappointing to isolate Virginia from monumental figures such as Jean Moulin, referred to in passing on four pages. Perhaps as the title indicates, this is not a book about world war 2, but why a woman who did so much was dismissed. But even there, I am not convinced I have a full story. Perhaps the film, "Liberté: A Call to Spy", currently in post-production will support inspiration from the book. ...more
At first I was excited to read this strange tale... but one has to be in the right mood to follow the life of the protagonist... I ended up skimming itAt first I was excited to read this strange tale... but one has to be in the right mood to follow the life of the protagonist... I ended up skimming it, to finish....more
Challenging... disturbing and a definite must read. It allows me to imagine, I am black� the kind of black a "colored person" would reject... it makesChallenging... disturbing and a definite must read. It allows me to imagine, I am black� the kind of black a "colored person" would reject... it makes me glad that my father had not been placed on a trash heap when he was born� Toni Morrison writes a powerful line � much of her book could be poetry� the character Cholly breaks my heart as he “cultivates hatred� against a black girl� he blames her for creating the situation, where white men catch him, flash the light on him tell him to “go to it”� he hates her because she bore witness to his failure to protect her, and impotence� This creates a craziness that will drive him to rape innocent girls…including his own daughter.
At the end of the story of this little girl, a witch doctor writes to God, criticizing him for forgetting the little children� forgetting how and when to be God. The description of a baby everyone wants dead, growing in a 12 year old, and "the years fold up like pocket handkerchiefs�. I quote the end of the book:
"The little girl, covered with waste dumped on her� everyone feeling more wholesome after they clean themselves on her� “We were so beautiful when we stood astride her ugliness. Her simplicity decorated us, her guilt sanctified us, her pain made us glow with health; her awkwardness made us think we had a sense of humor. Her inarticulateness made us believe we were eloquent. Her poverty kept us generous. Even her waking dreams we used� to silence our own nightmares…And she let us, and thereby deserved our contempt. We honed our egos on her, padded our characters with her frailty and yawned in the fantasy of our strength.
"And fantasy it was, for we were not strong, only aggressive; we were not free, merely licensed; we were not compassionate, we were polite; not good, but well-behaved. We courted death in order to call ourselves brave and hid like thieves from life. We substituted good grammar for intellect; we switched habits to simulate maturity; We rearranged lies and called it truth, seeing in the new pattern of an old idea, the Revelation and the Word.
Love is never any better than the lover. This little girl, given something of her father� shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye." ...more
page turner... By opening up our hearts, revealing our scars, we are made human, flawed and whole. Whatever the past, at least try to welcome and love page turner... By opening up our hearts, revealing our scars, we are made human, flawed and whole. Whatever the past, at least try to welcome and love the new people. What would you do in face of a firing squad? Vernichtung lurch Arbeit (extermination by work)... Love con smania: passion. "Life is change, constant change. We never know what will happen next-- it might be good, bad... unless we're lucky enough to find comedy in it, the change is always a drama, if not a tragedy.-- but after everything and even when... the skies turn scarlet and threatening. I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed." Vesti la Grubbia... put on the costume Pagliacci... the clowns... "Ridi, sul tu o amore infranto" (laugh at your broken love). Laugh at the grief that poisons your heart....more
Published in 1956. I like that the epilogue originally was intended to be issued as a pamphlet under the title, “This is my answer”� written in 1946. Published in 1956. I like that the epilogue originally was intended to be issued as a pamphlet under the title, “This is my answer”� written in 1946. I didn’t enjoy large parts of the book, as it hopped from autobiographical detail (his water colors, childrearing (rich vs. poor)...fan mail) to social commentary... I skimmed quite a bit of the 400 pages when what started as potentially amusing seemed to meander without a point.
However, there were some memorable lines, and a chance to walk down memory lane of French lit, including Balzac and Restif de la Bretonne. Some of the pages pop with amusing anecdotes of fellow artists.--ex. p. 170 I enjoyed his comments on suffering fools gladly and Delteil who creates Jesus the Second who encounters Old Adam: "Gestes que tout cela... jeux de mains, ombres chinoises, phénomenologie..." The evil's not there... it is within. It is not act but state. Being and not doing. "Evil is in the soul"... Is this Delteil or Miller having fun?
I was hopeful that Bosch would receive more of a mention by p. 237, with the discussion of "the task of genuine love"... however, there was no further mention. It was followed by an episode at Slade's Spring, where Miller encounters an India-rubber-skinned fellow at whom he pokes merciless fun. The following chapter starts with quote from MN Chatterjee's "Out of Confusion". "If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there.". Indeed, this is how I felt mid-way through the book.
It also was the beginning of my favorite chapter of the book. A description of America, the flip and froth of "deluded dipsydoodlers" . "When we were a young nation life was crude and simple. Our great enemy then was the redskin. (He became our enemy when we took his land away from him.). In those early days there were no chain stores, no delivery lines, no hired purchase plan, no vitamins, no supersonic flying fortresses, no electronic computers; ... All one needed for protection was a musket in one hand and a Bible in the other. " He continues about America's idea of freeing the rest of the world... "we are almost at the point now where we may be able to exterminate every man, woman and child throughout the globe who is unwilling to accept the kind of freedom we advocate.
Someone wrote in the margin of p. 262 "Who could have said it better" as Miller launches into a page about belonging... and the plight of those who live in a nation dead set against living simply and wisely. p. 268: "The great hoax which we are perpetuating every day of our lives is that we are making life easier, more comfortable, more enjoyable, more profitable. We are doing just the contrary.". Waste. "Our thoughts, our energies, our very lives are being used up to create what is unwise, unnecessary, unhealthy.".
I like his take on human beings: We are in two worlds at once: 1) the one we think we’re in; 2) the one we would like to be in.
I felt in reading it, it was a peek into a the mind of a genius� sometimes amusing, sometimes fire-crackly-witty, and sometimes a providing a tedious mirror of name-dropping wannabes milling about trying not to feel useless and unfit for life’s struggles. Uplifting it is not. I admire how he can play with fiction—clearly, he has the power to create whatever world he wants.
I didn’t realize that many of his books were banned! The copy of the book I got out of the library was hiding in the basement stacks, out of view. I love that there were reviews� and concur with much said: “A good part of the book seems to have been tossed together� the author, in an unusually mellow mood, simply following his nose around Big Sur. (paradise in an isolated, physically primitive, though intellectually sophisticated, community). Portrait sketching of friends, neighbors, in sympathetic appreciations� the third part tells the story of Conrad Moricand’s disastrous descent on this West Coast Paradise... Imaginative verve. this provocative writer reveals a world to us of cosmic grandeur and personal fulfillment� it can be ours if we will stop bucking our heads against a stone wall of strife and competition…�
Well� I agree with the final reviewer who found the book boring� but not wholly, "as there are generous and genuine bits of wisdom, philosophical and human, sown throughout; but they are so curiously interwoven, interlarded, or generally interpenetrated, with the jejune and the trust that one can only marvel at the mind of the writer for whom they seem to exist at the same level.�
Take home points: � questions to ponder: does it matter if we live a day or 1,000 years? Does “what was not� speak more eloquently than “what was�? Was there a beginning? “Nature smiling at herself in the mirror of eternity�.
The windows of the soul are so infinite� if your paradise is flawed, just open more windows! We never complain of wasting time in a good dream� so� consider life as a dream, and remember Confucious: “if man sees truth in the morning� he may die in the evening without regret.�
To give you a flavor of his ramblings: How are you doing these days living with yourself? To reach a reader, use language of “not-ness”� and the reader with feel with equal despair and bewilderment, common purpose and all-embracing significance.
Well.. certainly, Miller provides us an extensive reading list.. starting with "The Millennium of Hieronymus Bosch" by Wilhelm Fränger... which provides the title.
Delight and more delight for the linguist, for s/he who loves etymology and the rich layering of language. I have always been fascinated with Greek, aDelight and more delight for the linguist, for s/he who loves etymology and the rich layering of language. I have always been fascinated with Greek, and how usefully it provides words to help one understand the world.
Mary Norris writes with flair, humor. I may have read this book before, as I recognized many things, like the ancient word for flower, "anthos" , so poetry anthology would be a bouquet of poems selected like flowers. However, like any good company, one does not tire from a repeat visit with a lively companion. IwasremindedthatGreekdidnotputanyspacesbetweenwords. How X marks the spot. Why Alpha to Omega is a more satisfying way to travel from A to Z ending on a fat v0wel. How you don't so much read ancient Greek as construe it, "teasing out the different strands and seeing which parts of a sentence go together."
The same goes with deconstructing words, like "dysthymic": understand that the "thymos" for a Greek warrior is that part of the chest where you feel spirit, soul, heart, anger, i.e. the seat of he passions. A few more layers of meaning than merely, "downhearted".
Add a few myths, Morris' personal stories, and thank her for putting all this in her "biblos" --( which provided the root for Bible)-- how Greek provides records of the past "that preserve the things humans most need to know." ...more
A lovely way to consider the impact of Auden's poetry-- and an inspiration to get to know one poet well and how s/he helps you navigate through life. EA lovely way to consider the impact of Auden's poetry-- and an inspiration to get to know one poet well and how s/he helps you navigate through life. Examples: Reflection on life’s transcience: As I walked out one evening instructive meditation on unrequited love: The More Loving One September 1, 1939 � outbreak of World War II
New Year Letter: like a sermon to start over... "Every day, in sleep, labor, /our life and death are with our neighbor.
Reflections on travel... know the history... Spain: (disowned by Auden)
The Fall of Rome : portrait of decline private peace vs. public duty:
name for line of poetry or song that sticks in your mind: worm. I love these poems: Funeral Blues: If I Could Tell you try pairing it with Poussin and his Dance of Time. (poverty, labor, wealth, pleasure)
If I Could Tell You Time will say nothing but I told you so, Time only knows the price we have to pay; If I could tell you I would let you know.
If we should weep when clowns put on their show, If we should stumble when musicians play, Time will say nothing but I told you so.
There are no fortunes to be told, although, Because I love you more than I can say, If I could tell you I would let you know.
The winds must come from somewhere when they blow, There must be reasons why the leaves decay; Time will say nothing but I told you so.
Perhaps the roses really want to grow, The vision seriously intends to stay; If I could tell you I would let you know.
Suppose all the lions get up and go, And all the brooks and soldiers run away; Will Time say nothing but I told you so? If I could tell you I would let you know.
I read it quickly... but grateful for these tiny snippets. ...more
For bookclub. did not have time to read. "Her love for Liberia ..." luscious fairy tale laced with horrid racism.
The opening chapter introduces the rFor bookclub. did not have time to read. "Her love for Liberia ..." luscious fairy tale laced with horrid racism.
The opening chapter introduces the reader to the Vai people and Gbessa, who becomes the epitome of the resilience of women. Compared to Paulo Coelho, Yann Martel, Markus Zusak, Wayétu Moore employs poetic phrases like "tears made a home long ago for newer tears." p. 25 or "abysmal slumber"... "the sun took pleasure in having her all to itself, digging its impression unto her pigment, making her skin the color of twilight.
Part II. Monrovia Part III God of Cursed People Part IV. Kilimanjaro Fengbe, keh kamba beh. Fengbe kemu beh. We have nothing but we have God. We have nothing but we have each other. ...more
The jacket does not lie. This is a clear, compelling book. It gives a fine background to how metrics became a tool used for power. Instead of educatinThe jacket does not lie. This is a clear, compelling book. It gives a fine background to how metrics became a tool used for power. Instead of educating and healing... we measure... Instead of more teachers to teach, doctors to tend the sick, share their knowledge to help other doctors better tend the sick, prevent what causes the illness, our culture subscribes to the "proof" of accountability. When performance metrics that quantify human achievement and failure are used with the threat of demotion, lack of promotion, things go awry... If teachers use the metrics to discuss methods, curriculum, this is not necessarily bad. But to quote the final chapter, "Problems arise when the tests become the primary basis on which teachers and schools are rewarded or punished", and the institutions fail to fulfill their primary purpose.
Part III (Mismeasure of all things): case studies of police, military, business, finance, philanthropy and foreign aid and how metrics affect them. Part IV. Transparency (does not rise and fall hand in hand with performance!) Marriage, politics, diplomacy relegate some matters to shadows, closed circuit conversations... and privacy is sacrosanct.
The checklist: 1. What kind of information are you measuring? Remember that measurement becomes less reliable the more its objective is human activity... 2. How useful is the information? Just because it is measurable does not guarantee that it is worthwhile. 3. More metrics is not guarantee of better metrics. 4. What are the costs of not relying upon standardized measurement?Look at alternative metrics-- what people involved with what is measured find useful. 5. To what purpose will the measurement be put... to whom will the info be made transparent? 6. What are the costs of acquiring the metrics? (Compare the time, energy collecting data, analyzing it, processing it, vs. time spent doing the activities that are being measured!) 7. Why are the people at the top of the organization demanding performance metrics? 8. How and by whom are the measures of performance developed? 9. Beward of corruption and goal diversion. 10. Recognize the limits of the possible --
It is not a question of metrics versus judgment, but how judgement is informed by them. Unfortunately, many entertain the belief that it is possible and desirable to replace judgement acquired by talent and experience, with indicators of comparatif performance. This is not a new problem.
The book provides numerous examples from mid-19th century Education who proposed that schools whose students did not “measure up� to standardized assessments be defunded to McNamara's business metrics applied (unsuccessfully, as the generals predicted) to the military.
How is it that human choice became considered dangerous most of the time? (Some choices, especially those that are not “measured for performance value� can be serendipitous as opposed to pernicious.) � what unanticipated, and unintended consequences have resulted since the word “useless� was banned from association with “information”� (Isn’t information a way to expand understanding? )
The bottom line is perhaps a question of power, to quote Goodhart's law: "Any measure used for control is unreliable". And yet, as a culture, we seem to embrace statistical targets over effective management; short term survival where the purpose of life is reduced to avoiding risk to reputation, playing the metrics to hang on to a job as opposed to examining the value of the job to be done and how best to do it.
A gripping page turner of a memoire about a Mormon family with a bi-polar father. Part 1: We learn both about Mormon ideology, are introduced to a compA gripping page turner of a memoire about a Mormon family with a bi-polar father. Part 1: We learn both about Mormon ideology, are introduced to a complex family, where to most people, inconceivable accidents happen on the scrap heap. We learn about herbs, midwifery, muscle-testing. We see how change is considered dangerous... especially to family, requiring absolute loyalty. Part II. from no education, not even "pretend" homeschooling, to college and learning about the world. Part III. Trinity College. "None but ourselves can free our minds." Positive liberty: self-mastery; vs. Negative liberty: freedom from external obstacles, constraints. When life itself seems lunatic, how to cope with a "carousel of contradiction"... who knows when madness lies? which self do you call? What happens when the one you relied on no longer answers? Transformation... metamorphosis, but then in the list... falsity, betrayal... (guilt -- is it only fear of one's own wretchedness?) and finally, "education". What did Tara's original self have? (p. 312). She belonged to her family. She examines and shares her panic of not belonging, her "unraveling.
One finishes the book, cheering for Tara, for her tenacity, her authenticity, her unflagging honesty with herself as she confronts the teachings of Mormonism, the madness and abuse of her father and brother, the inconsistency of her mother to support her, and at the end her rejection. ...more
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