Category Archives: books

Clutter

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Lee

A young Henry Miller looks around the home he now shares with his wife Mona. He turns to his library: “Every book on the shelves had been acquired with a struggle, devoured with gusto, and had enriched our lives.” Henry … Continue reading →

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William Burroughs and Facts

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Lee

William Burroughs tells Allen Ginsberg: “I am about to annunciate a philosophy called ‘factualism.’ All arguments, all nonsensical considerations as to what people ‘should do,’ are irrelevant. Ultimately there is only facts on all levels, and the more one argues, … Continue reading →

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Notes on Deleuze and Guattari: A Thousand Plateaus

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Lee

Segmentarity is when we divide things up, into segments. There are countless ways you can divide things. It depends what you’re trying to do. Segmentarity works “in a circular fashion,” in ever wider circles, or “in a linear fashion.” When … Continue reading →

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Notes on Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling after reading Joakim Garff

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Lee

Abraham would have been terrifying because if we had met him we would never have glimpsed his inner life. We would not have seen the man of faith. We would have seen a man who was prepared to murder his … Continue reading →

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Notes on Confucius’ Analects Book 17 Chapter 6

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Lee

“Respectfulness, tolerance, trustworthiness in word, quickness and generosity.” Respectfulness Has something to do with not being too persistent in your interactions with others. If you want someone to act in a certain way, and they refuse, then you know when … Continue reading →

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Henry Miller and Belief

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Lee

“I believe in God the Father, in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, in the blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Ghost, in Adam Cadmium, in chrome nickel, the oxides and the mercurochromes, in waterfowls and watercress, in epileptoid seizures, in … Continue reading →

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The Noose and the Sky

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Lee

The deepest truths about a human being can be expressed only in lies. Nietzsche knew this, Henry Miller knew this. So did Sylvia Plath. Why? Because each human being is the sum of the stories she tells herself: for example … Continue reading →

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The Subject of the Drama is The Lie: Review of David Mamet’s Three Uses of the Knife

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Lee

All of your thoughts are bizarre and troubling, says David Mamet. So sit down with a coffee and examine your own head and there’s always something to write about. And if you’re asking yourself “Am I mad?” “Will people want … Continue reading →

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Flowers of Paradise: Life and Loss in Christina Rossetti

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Lee

Poetry means life, and life means purpose. A beating heart. But Christina Rossetti spent a lot of time contemplating what is dead and gone: death, and loss of the beloved. “Life is gone, the love too is gone …” says … Continue reading →

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From the Reading Diary: Kenneth Patchen’s Selected Poems

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Lee

Kenneth Patchen is interested in, among other things, the way the branches move on the trees to create visions and to scratch the surface of the stars in the night sky. He’s also interested in the cruelty that men – … Continue reading →

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