Philip Roth’s “American Pastoral” (1997) is steeped in the same subjective brand of voyeurism as his 1959 novella, “Goodbye Columbus”. Both works unfold from the perspectives of highly conspicuous and biased narrators. Neil Klugman and Nathan Zuckerman focus on the lives of other characters, whom they admire as well as envy. Their feelings towards these antagonists assume different manifestations; one is overtly superficial, while the other is more penetrating, multi-layered and Jamesian. Ultimately, each narrator is guilty of “ressentiment,” the quality defined by the existentialist …

Not so long ago I had a large book collection/library that filled two large book shelves in my living room and contained a very large collection of Beat writings and writings on the Beats. All that has changed and I now possess very few books due to circumstances that has absolutely nothing to do with the contents of this article but my telling of it is to forewarn that what follows is a memory piece and is thus open to the corruptions of a …

In his book Dast-e-tah-e-sang Ahmad Faiz of India writes:

“I don’t know the reason why I wrote poetry but it could be the environment of my childhood in which much was talked about poetry and there was inducement by friends and heart-related affairs. I am talking about the first part of Naqsh-e-Faryadi which carries my writings of the period 1924-25 to 1928-29. Those were my student days. These verses are the outcome of the intellectual and emotional experience gained by every young man of that age. …

We’re looking for new articles about children’s literature. This is a broad genre that encompasses numerous eras, styles, themes and cultures. From age-old tales like Cinderella to modern-day pop culture phenomena like Harry Potter, there is plenty of material we’d like to see covered. Author biographies, book reviews, and other forms of commentary are welcome. We’re certain that everybody had a favorite book or author when they were younger, and we’d like you to tell us about yours.

A week before Thanksgiving I drove to Sebastopol, California near Santa Rosa, to catch a performance/reading by a travelling troupe of writers and Pranksters. The occasion was the release of two new books, one about the late Ken Kesey, and the other written by him. The former is titled Spit in the Ocean. It’s a collection of short pieces written in appreciation of Kesey’s life and work by those who knew and loved him. The latter is titled Kesey’s Jail Journal, and it’s just …

David Amram
Live performance at
The Rudyard Kipling,
Louisville, Kentucky,
November 1, 2003

Over the Halloween/All Saints weekend I was in Louisville, Kentucky to participate in a poetry and music event, Insomniacathon 2003. On the night of All Saints Day, I was in the audience for a wonderful performance by David Amram, a 73-year-old musician and composer who is recognized by many as a living treasure of American and world music.

After some preliminary comments, the always enthusiastic Mr. Amram — described by one colleague as “indefatigable bringer …