Wednesday, March 10, 2010
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Breakfast with Bukowski By Bob Chorush Liza Williams called to say that she and Charles Bukowski would be visiting on the weekend. “Hank's not drinking,” she added, calling him by his nickname.
Wondrous Yearning By Tom Robotham The two best biographies I’ve ever read—indeed, two of my favorite books of any kind—are Emerson: The Mind on Fire (University of California) and Cheever: A Life (Knopf).
The Thinking Behind World of Words By Martha M. Daas, Ph.D As the Director of the Spanish Program at Old Dominion University, I have been approached time and again by parents who were interested in having their children learn Spanish.
Killer Comet By John-Henry Doucette Eileen Bertrud was the sort of girl who told boys they were handsome when they were not. She married Jeremiah Brundage, a boy who returned absurd compliments by topping them. They lived for thirty years in New York City.

TR's Notebook: A Column for Veer magazine

The American Way

By Tom Robotham

You shall no longer take things at second or third hand…/You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me: / You shall listen to all sides, and filter them [for] yourself. – Walt Whitman.

It’s not hard to find sharp social and political commentary these days. What’s rare is the citizen who will listen with an open mind. 

Perhaps this has always been a problem. But I think it’s getting worse. 

I began to notice the problem when I became editor of Port Folio Weekly in 1998. Almost from the day I started, I was confronted by frustrated ad sales representatives who regularly ran into resistance from business owners that didn’t like the paper’s “political tone.” Some of these prospective advertisers were apolitical and didn’t want to alienate anyone. But a fair number were ardent right-wingers who routinely objected to Port Folio’s “liberal bias.” 

Read more: The American Way

 

 

New Poetry

Blessed Are the Warm

By Rick Hite

At six we would walk out, the end of night,

Into the cold, my Grandfather and I,

Walk down the black streets with the snow plowed high

Along the sides, sooty, no longer white,

Walk to the big houses under dark trees,

The high branches reaching for the morning.

Grandfather would sort through his ring of keys,

Find the one, unlock, and, without warning,

Pull up the slanted door, ice breaking loose,

And then descend into a furnace room,

His Hades, to stoke the fire for some Zeus

Overhead, in bed, dreaming in sleep’s womb,

Who soon would wake to warmth and light, and bless

The Heavens for their grace and bounteousness.

 

 

View from the TReehouse

An Educational Priority

By Tom Robotham

Foreign LanguagesWhenever I take stock of my life to date, I can’t help feeling a tinge of regret. I wish, for example, that I had taken music more seriously when I was younger; and I wish I had become fluent in a foreign language or two. Like most public school students, I had some exposure—in my case, two years of Spanish in high school and two years of French in college—but it was too little too late. Today, I know only a smattering of each language.

 

Read more: View from the Treehouse

   

Journalism at a Crossroads

By John-Henry Doucette

Last month, Veer Magazine ran in its news pages a story proclaiming that the Norfolk gift shop Texture “is unlike any other.” The article also included a quote that referred warmly to the shop’s “family of coworkers.” What the article failed to mention is that the writer is a member of that family.

The website AltDaily quickly picked up on the transgression: “(T)his is what we call in the journalism world a conflict of interest,” wrote AltDaily co-editor/publisher Jesse Scaccia in a long commentary that questioned Veer

Read more: Journalism at a Crossroads

 

I Am Blue Woman, Hear Me Roar

By Leona Baker

Anyone who has seen Avatar is likely to rave about the film’s breathtaking and wildly inventive visuals. I practically had to pick my jaw up off the floor as I walked out of the IMAX theater at the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton.

Read more: I Am Blue Woman, Hear Me Roar

   

Music: Best Albums of 2009

By Jim Morrison

Here's one listener's list of favorite discs from 2009. It’s unusually narrow this year, with Americana dominating. It must be the times we're facing.

Read more: Music: Best Albums of 2009

 

New Fiction: Concessions

By John-Henry Doucette

Lydia faced the door at La Ragazza Aglio on College Hill. She saw the girl in the black dress walk into the restaurant. The boy who followed wore blue jeans and a red rugby shirt. Lydia watched them over Ty’s hairless head, buried in a menu though the food was ordered.

“Oh dear,” Lydia said. “This won’t do.”

“Reconsidering eggplant?” Ty asked.

Read more: New Fiction: Concessions

   

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Reporting & Essays

  • The Ritual We Love To Hate By Tom Robotham Many folks I know think New Year’s resolutions represent an exercise in futility. So why do some of us keep...
  • Candles at Sunrise   At last I find myself in Emerson’s own country, and looking upon Boston Bay. Naturally, I revert to the friend of my youth....
  • Shadows Dispelled Healed after a life-threatening illness, a veteran Norfolk-based actor takes on the role of Scrooge with new vigor By Tom Robotham...
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Arts & Culture

  • New Music: From Dante to Desert Noir By Jim Morrison Caroline Herring: Golden Apples of the Sun" (Signature Sounds) There's a purity, a clarity, and a subtly...
  • Ten Books That Changed My Life By Tom Robotham I love lists of favorite things—books, music, foods, places, people—and I’m not alone. There’s something...
  • Endless Summer Photography by George Kartis   George Kartis is professional photographer who has worked in New York, Paris, London, Milan,...
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Fiction & Poetry

  • New Poetry: The Marketplace Florist Anton sold his corner store roses With cavalier flourish and bows. With grand gestures he’d festoon me With huge floral...
  • New Poetry: The Hand Extended By Rick Hite  Benedict Sechzehnte extends his hand.             If you are Anglican, you’ll understand: A road for...
  • A Mighty Cry By Jim Newsom Back in 1969, we thought we had the best of times and songs of love and peace were everywhere The Woodstock nation,...
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