Tag Archives: books

Book Review: Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Lee

Sometimes you encounter a book and you don’t know quite what to make of it. Sometimes you feel this right from the first page, and from there you plough on with a weird and wonderful feeling that things are slowly … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Reviews of 2019 Books | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Limitations

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Lee

“Don’t waste yourself in talk!” says Mona to Henry Miller, as he starts on another of his monologues. He shouldn’t be saying all this to her: it should be going in the book. Sometimes Henry seems to agree with her … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Literature | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Henry Miller’s Destination

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Lee

In Chapter 9 of Nexus, Henry and Osiecki are looking for a place to drink. It’s Osiecki’s birthday. Henry didn’t want to come out, but Osiecki offered him a bite to eat, and he couldn’t turn that down. He eats … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Literature | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Kindred Spirits (Notes on Henry Miller’s Nexus)

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Lee

Chapter 8 of Henry Miller’s Nexus is about the role that other people can play in the life of an artist, for better or worse. Life can seem lonely for an artist, without anyone in the world who understands you, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Literature, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hegel’s Scepticism

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Lee

Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit is an exercise in scepticism. People who call themselves “sceptics” often pride themselves on having their own ideas about the world, and trusting the evidence of their own senses. This is better than accepting established truths … Continue reading →

Posted in Hegel, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Notes on Henry Miller’s Nexus: Burying the Past

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Lee

In Europe, Henry will acquire “a new body and a new soul”. Then he can make use of his experiences: what he has taken from New York, and from all his life so far. We’ve seen throughout Nexus that Henry … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Literature, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Silence

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Lee

When interviewed, Andy Warhol could appear aloof and arrogant. He famously preferred to give one word answers – usually “Yes” and “No” – or even just to nod or shake his head. He preferred even more not to give interviews … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , | 2 Comments

To Own an Inch of Earth

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Lee

Neal Cassady wrote to Jack Kerouac that when writing “one should forget all rules, literary style, and other such pretensions.” And what he wrote next was really beautiful: “… Rather, I think, one should write, as nearly as possible, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Beat Generation, books, Literature, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Love and Understanding (Notes on Jack Kerouac’s The Town and the City)

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Lee

To children and writers, a landscape presents mysteries to be contemplated rather than solved. Jack Kerouac opens his The Town and the City with a description of the course of the Merrimac River, its “broad and placid” flow “broken at … Continue reading →

Posted in Beat Generation, books, Literature, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting into a Rut: Notes on The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Lee

Andy Warhol writes about time spent alone – in a “rut”, as he calls it. How he gets into a rut: “Go to my room, fluff up the pillow, turn on a couple of TVs, open a box of Ritz … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , , | 7 Comments