Word of the Week: prescind (prih-SIND) Definition 1. to withdraw one's attention 2. to detach for purposes of thought In Context "Nooyi prescinded from the share price-obsessed practices associated with most conglomerates—and instead said she was focused on making PepsiCo the kind of company that would deliver a 'lasting impact' to society." Edmund Heaphy, Quartz, 6 Aug. 2018
Spring and All: III [The farmer in deep thought] BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS The farmer in deep thought is pacing through the rain among his blank fields, with hands in pockets, in his head the harvest already planted. A cold wind ruffles the water among the browned weeds. On all sides the world rolls coldly away : black orchards darkened by the March clouds — leaving room for thought. Down past the brushwood bristling by the rainsluiced wagonroad looms the artist figure of the farmer — composing — antagonist.
Book of the Month: A Grace Paley Reader: Stories, Essays, and Poetry Critical Evaluation "There’s a case to be made that Grace Paley was first and foremost an antinuclear, antiwar, antiracist feminist activist who managed, in her spare time, to become one of the truly original voices of American fiction in the later twentieth century. Just glance at the 'chronology' section of 'A Grace Paley Reader' (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), a welcome new collection of her short stories, nonfiction, and poems, edited by Kevin Bowen and Paley’s daughter, Nora. 1961: Leads her Greenwich Village PTA in protests against atomic testing, founds [...]
Word of the Week: yahoo (YAH-hoo) Definition (noun) 1. capitalized Yahoo : a member of a race of brutes in Swift's Gulliver's Travels who have the form and all the vices of humans 2. a boorish, crass, or stupid person In Context "In a place like America, we seem to revel in these geographic judgments. And so Northerners stereotype Southerners as Confederate flag-waving, pickup driving, moonshine-drinking yahoos and Southerners depict Northerners as snooty, elitist, big city, latte-drinking, Volvo-driving liberals." John F. Hudson, The Cambridge (Massachusetts) Chronicle, 31 May 2018
Not Tonight but Tomorrow (1978) BY MIGUEL ALGARÍN Not tonight but tomorrow when the light turns the peach tree green and the Earth sprouts its young leaves looking to repeat the magical mystery tour of photosynthetic conversion of light and moisture into life— Not tonight but tomorrow when my body will have shed its fear of turning old and soft will I turn my speeding mind into the tunnels of your psyche to melt the calcium that constipates your synapses into a lubricating powder— Not tonight but tomorrow when the Universe moves on beyond the field of action that is the Earth [...]
[O sweet spontaneous] BY E. E. CUMMINGS O sweet spontaneous earth how often have the doting fingers of prurient philosophers pinched and poked thee ,has the naughty thumb of science prodded thy beauty how often have religions taken thee upon their scraggy knees squeezing and buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive gods (but true to the incomparable couch of death thy rhythmic lover thou answerest them only with spring)
Word of the Week: weir (ˈwer, ˈwir) Definition (noun) 1. a fence or enclosure set in a waterway for taking fish 2. a dam in a stream or river to raise the water level or divert its flow In Context "Without the weir, the ocean tides could flow in and out, creating a predominantly saltwater system." Phil Diehl, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Decision on Buena Vista Lagoon project likely delayed until summer," 22 Apr. 2018
For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet by Joy Harjo Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that bottle of pop. Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control. Open the door, then close it behind you. Take a breath offered by friendly winds. They travel the earth gathering essences of plants to clean. Give it back with gratitude. If you sing it will give your spirit lift to fly to the stars’ ears and back. Acknowledge this earth who has cared for you since you were a dream planting itself precisely [...]
Word of the Week: persiflage (PÛR-sə-fläzh) Definition (Noun) Light raillery or mockery; bantering talk; a frivolous or mildly contemptuous manner of treating any subject. In Context "He was not accustomed to indulge in persiflage with great ladies." William Le Queux, The Intriguers, 1920.
