It can be a person, a book, an idea, a ___________. You name it. I’m overwhelmed by instances. Here’s a haphazard list, incomplete, chaotic, and cut short:

John Cash, John Cage, John Coltrane, Jesus Christ. Tory, Luke, the New Testament, the Psalms, N.T. Wright, Joe, Joel, Abe, Steve, and Steve. Chet and James and Ben […]

Often an appreciation clings to many other appreciations. My cousin gave me a shirt a few years ago that says “Never Be A Bartleby” on the front and “I Would Prefer Not To” on the back. It probably means something when I choose to wear that shirt on any particular day.

Apparently at one time […]

Kaizen and karoshi are both Japanese words that don’t have readily available English equivalents. One means improvement, and one means to work yourself to death. Kaizen means continuous improvement. Karoshi means to work yourself to death. Do a quick search for kaizen and you’ll find a bunch of business strategies linked to the term.

I first […]

Yesterday I see a woman playing a hurdy gurdy in front of two people sitting in lawn chairs. She had a mic stand set up. I know it is a hurdy gurdy because last year I played some videos about hurdy gurdys to my music class and we talked about them at some length. And […]

As a physical object, my favorite book is my copy of Adrift On An Ice-Pan by Wilfred Grenfell. It was first published in 1909 and my copy was printed in 1911. My copy of the book has a WITHDRAWN stamp from the Albany Public Library and has a reinforced library binding with erratic geometric shapes. The book […]

Why do I like to read? It’s so important and so obvious that I’m afraid to answer, or attempt to. It’s like asking if or why I love my wife, or kids, or parents. The answer is an exuberant and resounding “yes and let me count the ways” and yet I hesitate to explain. I’m […]

I feel like quitting. School is cranky. I’m tired. I’m halfway through writing a book that I have somewhat committed to finishing by the end of the month, but doubt everything about it. My feelings don’t align with reality. I can’t see the forest for the trees. I dread going to school right now, turning […]

Sometimes it’s Jack London’s “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” And sometimes it’s the voice of God, or what feels like it. This morning I’m looking around for a big stick.

I love the first moments of inspiration, the moments when you have to write it down, […]

Poetry is embarrassing and makes many people feel uncomfortable. It’s the most important thing in the world, and the least at the same time. When people start talking about poems, or slip them into books, there is a habit to apologize. If somebody asks you to read a poem of theirs, it’s often interpreted as […]

The week after I finished reading Moby Dick, the year after I finished college, I had a job interview where the interviewer asked me what the last book I read was. I told her and I could tell that she didn’t believe me, and things felt cold and awkward after that. I don’t know that […]