Category Archives: General

I’ve Moved! Go to passiontask.com

I’ve moved most– if not all– of my bloggy writing to Passion Task. I hope to see you there!

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on the Significance of Ashes (Paul Valéry)

“We were aware that the visible earth is made of ashes, and that ashes signify something. … And we see now that the abyss of history is deep enough to hold us all. We are aware that a civilization has … Continue reading

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DFW’s “Lukewarm Irony”

In an interesting (to people like me) bit of analysis, Andrew Seal writes about Infinite Jest: Specialized knowledges pervade the book—tennis, recreational drug use, optics, burglary, even punting (surely the most narrowly specialized position in football). But one of the … Continue reading

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Reading Ovid – Book II – Callisto, the raven, Aglauros, Europa

[“Neptune Chasing Coronis” (Giulio Carpioni)] Just some brief reading notes on the rest of Book II of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Callisto Another Jovian rape and another victim who pays the price. Unlike Phaethon, who is the personification of hubris, Callisto appears … Continue reading

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This Site is Closed

For various reasons, I am no longer maintaining Cosmopoetica. The contact form still works and past content will remain available for reference purposes. There is no reason to worry about me. I thank all of you for your time and … Continue reading

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40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes

In case you need to get pumped up:

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Ulysses Update: Episode 15 – "Circe"

[image by FlickrJunkie] I think I may have lost my companions on the voyage through Ulysses, a loss I am feeling most keenly after reading this and the previous sections… I would love to know what they make of them. … Continue reading

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"Peace" (Stanley Moss)

[image by Ali K.] The trade of war is over, there are no more battles,but simple murder is still in.The No God, Time, creeps his way, universe after universe, like a great snapping turtleopening its mouth wagging its tongueto look … Continue reading

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Where do Ideas Come From?

Via Darren Barefoot comes this Ze Frank video. Not safe for work, but it made me laugh. “Brain Crack” indeed…

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Nick Hornby and Ben Folds Collaborate!

[Ben Folds pic by deovolenti] Through a chain of circumstances too complicated to recount, I discovered a Paper Cuts Blog playlist by Nick Hornby, perpetual resident on my “reliable favorite authors” shortlist, in which he alluded to collaborating with a … Continue reading

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Thankfulness

Not being one to let the obviousness of a tradition stand in my way– and fully aware that I should be more thankful more often– I join the long list of those concentrating on thankfulness today. Being thankful reminds me … Continue reading

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Ulysses Update – Episode 14 – Oxen of the Sun

[image by occhiovivo] OK, so this is section that broke my back the first time I “read” (and the depth of my engagement that time demands the scare quotes) Ulysses, and it very nearly did so again this time. With … Continue reading

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Ulysses Update – Episode 13 – Nausicaa

[image from litmuse; created by Jonathan Day] Ah, the infamous Gerty MacDowell. This is one section of Ulysses that has remained in my mind from the first reading and even before I had started considering the Homeric parallels, thinking instead … Continue reading

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Ulysses Update – Part 12 – Cyclops

[photo by Walt Jabsco] A strange, strange section of Ulysses (I should get my terminology straight– these aren’t properly books, but section doesn’t accurately represent the degree to which each is different from one another. Part? Episode?). There are two … Continue reading

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Ulysses Update: Book 11 – The Sirens

  [art by mikem1115] This is a late update; I finished the “Sirens” section of Ulysses almost three weeks ago and have finished two more section since. As a result, I have only my marginal notes and poor memory to … Continue reading

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Writing, Recognition and Attention

The comments on my post regarding Adam Kirsch’s essay have been quite interesting. It’s clear that I didn’t convey my point particularly well and that some responded without reading Kirsch’s whole piece, relying instead on my clippings. Those that did … Continue reading

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Does Adam Kirsch Get It?

[photo by midorionna] I can’t decide if Adam Kirsch really, really gets it or if he’s so wrong that he’s almost bent back around to righzt, wormhole fashion. The whole essay on writer’s aspiration, fame, and the age of blogs … Continue reading

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RIP: Donald Finkel

image “borrowed” from stlog Donald Finkel is one of those poets I’ve yet to get around to seriously reading but whose poems stand out enough that I actually remember them long after serendipitously discovering them in journals such as The … Continue reading

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"Neither Out Far Nor In Deep" (Robert Frost)

The people along the sandAll turn and look one way.They turn their back on the land.They look at the sea all day. As long as it takes to passA ship keeps raising its hull;The wetter ground like glassReflects a standing … Continue reading

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from The Captive (Marcel Proust)

“All that we can say is that everything is arranged in this life as though we entered it carrying a burden of obligations contracted in a former life; there is no reason inherent in the conditions of life on this … Continue reading

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