tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.comments2023-02-14T03:13:36.263-08:00The Republic of LettersKeith Botsfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08081610358521789326noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-18052995840777980072011-06-15T01:51:43.891-07:002011-06-15T01:51:43.891-07:00I was too late to know of the move!@bose
Cover Le...I was too late to know of the move!@bose<br /><br /><a href="http://www.samplecoverletter.org/" rel="nofollow">Cover Letter</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-68797106628218365432011-01-14T04:49:09.812-08:002011-01-14T04:49:09.812-08:00I had missed the revival of your blog, Keith. I...I had missed the revival of your blog, Keith. I'm glad it's back. It gives me something to read while I'm in the office today. I'm also glad to see Ribeyro mentioned. But it's Julio Ramón Ribeyro, not Juan!<br /><br />John PenuelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-45235547955826534372011-01-13T06:20:16.342-08:002011-01-13T06:20:16.342-08:00Hello Keith. Somehow I crawled upon this blog and ...Hello Keith. Somehow I crawled upon this blog and thought I should at least leave a greeting message to my old acquaintance. I'm glad to see you are still very active and explicitly opinionated. :-)<br />Best regards, Bojan P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-78079651639674734022010-11-22T17:03:02.169-08:002010-11-22T17:03:02.169-08:00Agreed, but there are those of us who do remember ...Agreed, but there are those of us who do remember that familial meal around the formal table. In my case it was Sunday's at my grandmothers, which meant that we were treated to boiled meat, boiled vegetables and conversation that when at it's best or at least most interesting elevated itself from the mundane to absolute treacherous - someone was always battling it out with someone else. These are fond memories now only because those people are no longer alive and my children love hearing about how my strange Catholic family. Now, my husband and I make a to embrace the important meal. This Thanksgiving we will be cooking with friends, not potluck, but all of us in the kitchen together, eating, drinking, and conversing and later sitting around a table, sans television, eating on our nicest collection of plates by no means are we wealthy but we have managed to collect a few nice pieces, and real linens not the paper kind, discussing - I can't say what as our topics are so varied - poetry, literature, philosophy, soccer - whatever, and our young children will participate because they don't know any other way. Perhaps it is my own desire to believe that not all is lost in this world or in those things that few of us still find worthwhile and so I am hopeful that by doing these things I save myself, but I also pass these things onto my children. Hope is an absolute necessity when you have young children. I hope your Thanksgiving finds you at that lost meal that no longer exists, for it's in these moments when memory and reality touch that life is most elevated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-37321814031887006782010-11-22T13:57:05.356-08:002010-11-22T13:57:05.356-08:00I see that Frank Wilson's Books, Inq., blog pi...I see that Frank Wilson's Books, Inq., blog <a href="http://booksinq.blogspot.com/2010/11/and-its-sound-advice.html" rel="nofollow">picked up on your advice</a> to young writers, via TWR. From the same blog: "If you want to study writing, read Dickens. That's how to study writing, or Faulkner, or D.H. Lawrence, or John Keats. They can teach you everything you need to know about writing." (<a href="http://booksinq.blogspot.com/2010/11/thought-for-day_17.html" rel="nofollow">Shelby Foote, born on this dare in 1916</a>)Zachary Boshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07381974131762307270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-68599149471563918602010-11-17T07:23:08.896-08:002010-11-17T07:23:08.896-08:00Where do you advise one to go now for the fellowsh...Where do you advise one to go now for the fellowship?Zachary Boshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07381974131762307270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-1516280487398041142010-06-13T13:14:18.707-07:002010-06-13T13:14:18.707-07:00Soccer will never catch on in the US so long as &q...Soccer will never catch on in the US so long as "big" matchups like last night end in 1-1 draws.Average Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08498159227792256171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-87744924755631765412010-06-08T11:56:51.638-07:002010-06-08T11:56:51.638-07:00I would hazard the oversimplification that everyon...I would hazard the oversimplification that everyone oversimplifies the Israel question. The nagging nihilist sitting on my shoulder reminds me that, que sera sera. There are no "good guys."<br /><br />Just ask Helen Thomas. Or better yet - don't.Rev. Eugene Stashtinhttp://www.screamingmajority.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-935656648169988272010-05-31T13:37:11.580-07:002010-05-31T13:37:11.580-07:00I think you dramatically oversimplify the situatio...I think you dramatically oversimplify the situation, not only from a political but also legal point of view. I'm unsure how a blockade of humanitarian supplies against a largely civilian populace is considered legal.<br /><br />Further, I cannot fathom your French scenario--of course France would be criticized! Likely by the United States! Israel's intervention occurred in international waters and was not only stupid, but probably illegal. <br /><br />Frankly, I'm stunned by your defense of Israel. Without condoning the acts of terrorists, Israel is entirely to blame for this situation. You ask what state can tolerate being under constant attack? Israel is hit by the occasional rocket attack from some of the poorest regions on the planet--it responds with a fullscale blockade, aerial bombardments, and a tank rush in order to "put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger" (sayeth an Israeli Government Official). Israel is not in any imminent threat of invasion by any major Arab power, and yet it acts with impunity towards what are, at this point, a more unfortunate community of people than the Israelis themselves.Average Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08498159227792256171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-76663314169561402162010-05-23T20:24:12.922-07:002010-05-23T20:24:12.922-07:00I'm a tenured associate professor at a midwest...I'm a tenured associate professor at a midwestern U.S. university. I am about to be the chair of the campus-wide executive committee of the division of the professions, which oversees the process of tenure/promotion for about 1/3 of our campus. I admire the accomplishments of those who have come before our committee, yet even though I have tenure and would hate to lose it, I wonder if we are actually doing good work. Thanks for the thoughtful comments, Keith. TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-78669897958918669892010-05-20T13:46:41.112-07:002010-05-20T13:46:41.112-07:00I don't sing anthems as a general rule, but th...I don't sing anthems as a general rule, but the American interpretation tradition is painful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-79867351051423265202010-05-18T16:43:26.006-07:002010-05-18T16:43:26.006-07:00For all the others! That´s great I hadn´t heard t...For all the others! That´s great I hadn´t heard that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-63615259675239949552010-04-26T20:59:00.733-07:002010-04-26T20:59:00.733-07:00awe dammit, now I gotta defend The Miniature.
I...awe dammit, now I gotta defend The Miniature. <br /><br />I must defend this short form. The task of The Miniature requires the writer to embrace brevity and the sentence as tools for construction while rigorously redefining pacing rules and expectations of the reader. ( Simic can really kill at this form, as can Diane Williams and the aforementioned Lydia Davis.) But, the absolute origin of this short form, the Pensée, allows for major linguistic moves to define and redefine a situation to inspire or bring the reader to an objective correlative. Where poetry requires form, function, sound, and sense, the miniature requires characters, situation, shift and narrative design. The terms: concrete prose, short short, flash, prose poem, condensed sentence fit (fytte), or pensée, allow for critics to kill the idea dead by merely pointing out the difficult assigning of each to its example. To be clear; concrete prose often applies the rules of strunk&white to the utmost, short shorts keep below 500 words, flash fiction resolves quickly, prose poems expose in block form with 'prose', condensed sentence fit (fytte) is something I just made up, and pensées lead one to a thought from a putting down of thoughts, or can lead one to many thoughts from one thought--more often the case in all singular things with us. <br /><br />Defending The Miniature is admirable, and were I to truly throw myself into a defense I'd need more than a few hundred pages to show how important The MIniature has been in developing and killing and reliving and rebirthing and killing the novel. But, I'd need some sort of advance to keep me at the coffee and apples for a duration. Many, many, many people have failed and published their miniatures in the nation's leading magazines. <br /><br />I tried.Conor Robin Madiganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11030786401051166250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-53046708691503340832010-04-21T06:11:10.579-07:002010-04-21T06:11:10.579-07:00Keith -
Tracked you down to Google. Would lo...Keith -<br /> Tracked you down to Google. Would love to have your E-mail address so that we can catch up.<br />Best,<br />Chiz Schultz<br />Swisschiz@aol.comCome to Rockland!https://www.blogger.com/profile/16529529612437102009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-52777010865788806822010-04-14T15:49:42.651-07:002010-04-14T15:49:42.651-07:00Professor Botsford:
As you know, I am not a Frenc...Professor Botsford:<br /><br />As you know, I am not a Frenchman, but that scene in Casablanca gets me every time. You know the one:<br /><br />The Nazis are singing Die Wacht am Rhein at the piano (itself a pretty moving song--"Und tilg' die Schmach mit Feindesblut"!!!), but our Czech resistance leader (himself a Magyar, no?) isn't having it. Captain Renault looks up to see Laszlo smolder, and the latter commands the band: <br /><br />"Play La Marseillaise. Play it!" <br /><br />He starts to sing and conduct the band, and in a small act of defiance, Rick's erupts in song--even the Maghrebi guitarist strums along. Eventually the Germans are outsung. Yvonne, the hussy who is now with a Russian barkeep, now with a German soldier, appropriately chimes in during "..mugir ce feroces soldars, ils viennent jusque dans no bras..." with a tear rolling down her cheek.<br /><br />We get a glimpse of Ilsa, the confused wife of Laszlo and lover of Rick, just before the triumphant chorus:<br /><br />"Aux armes citoyens! Formez vos batallions! Marchons, marchons! Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!"<br /><br />Laszlo's managed to make her fall head over heals for him again, and thoroughly inspire this group of refugees, but not without intimidating Maj. Strasser. And to think, it was just an anthem.<br /><br />Which is all to say that "that our flag was still there" falls very short of "the blood-stained banner has been raised."<br /><br />Le jour de gloire est vraiment arrive!<br /><br />Greetings from Washington, DC.Nick Nikicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-64669314862181801852010-04-05T13:24:44.816-07:002010-04-05T13:24:44.816-07:00Strange you mention that - a best friend of 20 yea...Strange you mention that - a best friend of 20 years (almost my entire lifetime) overdosed on cocaine in LA three months ago now. It definitely is a killer, and I'm certainly not ignorant of the fact. However, I'm also not ignorant of the fact that (ex., my friend, R.I.P.), it would have been something other than cocaine if it had not been that choice of poison in particular. Heroin is just a class unto itself, in my view, etc. <br /><br />Your point and intention are well-taken.Eugene Stashtinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-29254302399231806932010-04-03T20:22:15.715-07:002010-04-03T20:22:15.715-07:00Stashin" You may have 'dabbled' in dr...Stashin" You may have 'dabbled' in drugs, but only someone abysmally ignorant could conceive of legalizing cocaine, which is a pure killer. Coca leaves are one thinf, refined commercial cocaine is as dangerous as heroin, and as lethal.<br /><br />The point I sought to make is that when 'natural' druge are legal, they can easily be controlled: to each his need, as prescribed by doctors. The amount is limited, the addict identified.<br /><br />I doubt that in the UK of my childhood there were more than a few thousand addicts, and they did not have to kill or rob to get what they needed.Keith Botsfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08081610358521789326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-72737101680673076972010-04-02T10:49:33.793-07:002010-04-02T10:49:33.793-07:00I'm for legalization of drugs as much as anybo...I'm for legalization of drugs as much as anybody else (having dabbled enough for 10 in my past)... but there are limits to just how lightly addiction can be portrayed. Just consult DeQuincey. Part of the War on Drugs I understand is that people are not responsible enough to just do a lil' bit of smack, and then put it aside. Eventually, an addict becomes a public danger in a myriad of ways. Legalize marijuana and cocaine, leave the heroin and other opiates off the table, I say.Eugene Stashtinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-32553587623096552192010-03-12T13:15:32.744-08:002010-03-12T13:15:32.744-08:00I would agree the term is especially coined for so...I would agree the term is especially coined for something as singular as the Holocaust. However, if I had to find another example of textbook genocide, I would say some of the 19th-century policies toward the American Indians would also classify (Trail of Tears, et al).Eugene Stashtinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-39423861742329596112010-03-12T09:23:05.913-08:002010-03-12T09:23:05.913-08:00I remember discussing your definition of genocide ...I remember discussing your definition of genocide in Club Med five years ago, and while I think it's pretty good one, I have to ask: how are you defining "legitimate government/state"? Further, in your discussion, you seem to suggest as part of your criteria that there be some contempt for the state minority within actual legislation.<br /><br />Depending upon your answers and criteria, your definition effectively limits genocide to the Holocaust. Now I agree that the word gets thrown around entirely too much, but what crime then fits the wholesale slaughter of peoples? Crimes against humanity? Further, in that case, who's to be held responsible for that?Average Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08498159227792256171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-68758789742016236372010-03-05T12:22:11.367-08:002010-03-05T12:22:11.367-08:00A caricature? That's an interesting use of one...A caricature? That's an interesting use of one of your four languages, sir.<br /><br />If you are such a relativist that you equate Olbermann's annoying smarminess with Beck's dangerous baiting of the unwashed masses, then I wish you well with your future endeavors in the world of physics - and for the love of God, please avoid real life outside your pedantic "equal-and-opposite" equations.Eugene Stashtinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-86933449327599643642010-02-24T14:50:07.444-08:002010-02-24T14:50:07.444-08:00A disclaimer: I am a physics professor in a US uni...A disclaimer: I am a physics professor in a US university. I have two PhD degrees and speak four languages. You can count me as an intellectual (sort of). Also, I was born in the USSR.<br /><br />Your mumbling does not make much sense to me. Just go back a few years, and, in your babble, replace Glenn Beck with, among many, say, Keith Olbermann, and Obama with Bush. See? Where were you then? You are a caricature.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-60507933735761328022010-02-22T16:29:56.932-08:002010-02-22T16:29:56.932-08:00TO ANON
I'm afraid your malaise is not shared...TO ANON<br /><br />I'm afraid your malaise is not shared by a large or largish group of citizens who feel gratified that Mr. Beck (and Palin and Hannety and Murdoch and the rest of them) speaks to their concerns. These people are not conservatives; they are an interest group no different from other interest groups, be they hmosexuals, doctors, ministers, minorities or hole-in-their-heads. Everyone has a demand: try Armenians as a group! The TLS reminds me that the only Middle Eastern country to 'mourn' 9/11, was Iran. You know where that interest now stands. Why, right alongside Greek civil servants who don't give a flying f*** if their country goes broke as long as their waged keep on rising, or Lufthana and BA pilots. We have a tide of malcontents. What distinguishes Glen Beck is that he has NO self-knowledge at all. He doesn't bother with inconsistency in his argument. Add to that the obvious fact that he was hired (pretty much as Howard Stern was) to do a job for which he is well-paid and has a large audience which thinks that he makes eminent sense, and you have a problem: one not unlike the challenge Huey Long threw down.Keith Botsfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08081610358521789326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-6594901420932487012010-02-18T11:41:56.082-08:002010-02-18T11:41:56.082-08:00Call me an obverse psychotic, but I actually enjoy...Call me an obverse psychotic, but I actually enjoy perusing Hunger from time to time. On the other hand, I can appreciated Of Human Bondage, but find it insufferably dull. <br /><br />Regardless, I'll dodge the biographies. Sex is important, but pretty damn ephemeral.Eugene Stashtinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396418331904465725.post-26766394828069141902010-02-18T10:48:20.971-08:002010-02-18T10:48:20.971-08:00First, I'm surprised and a little impressed th...First, I'm surprised and a little impressed that you can sit through an entire segment of that idiot Beck. I avoid Fox, Palin and that whole ilk for the same reason I avoid eating rotten food. However, let the man speak! Let Palin speak too, and all the rest of them, for whenever they open their mouths they show to the world how hateful, incompetent and unintelligent they are. We need these people to speak and in fact the louder the better. We have become a nation where intellectuals are no longer valued and the very word has become an embarrassing utterance as the way old ladies whisper the word "cancer." That's not just those Tea Party folks either. Whenever Palin, Beck, and the others speak, intellectuals only look better. In fact someday after we've all had enough of that poison we might again look to the intellectuals to save us. Understandably I can see where, after watching that self proclaimed "clown" my instinct might also be to shut him up, if not by force then by law, but I don't think that's the answer. My fear is that someone might want to one day shut me up, and as a writer I can't imagine a worse fate. Let them whip themselves up into a frothing mess if that's what they want, in the end they'll reveal to a weary public how ugly they are and how unwelcome they are as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com