Latest communiqués

31
Jul
Writing is hard? Really? Try being  a roofer. Or a single mom.

Writing is hard? Really? Try being a roofer. Or a single mom.

Includes the pain of dancers, a mention of f-stops, and the first ever appearance in this newsletter of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
4 min read
21
Jul
My thing with windows and peeling paint

My thing with windows and peeling paint

Includes portals, paint, denial of any voyeurism, mention of cadmium yellow, and the figure 8,235,377 I first made
2 min read
07
Jul
The book report for June 2023

The book report for June 2023

Two-thirds of the volumes I finished were disappointing, which is disappointing but so it goes. Plus I abandoned a book
2 min read
05
Jul
Alaska I — The totem carver

Alaska I — The totem carver

In some of my pictures, he looks carved in wood himself. Sturdy, upright, weathered, silent. Like a totem pole, full of stories. Eighty-five and still making art. Ars longa, vita brevis. Yes, but frequently misunderstood.
3 min read
13
Jun
That kid trying to zip his coat

That kid trying to zip his coat

How often can one distracted writer yearn to be a 4-year-old trying to zip his coat?
5 min read
04
Jun
Okay, so maybe I won’t win the Booker

Okay, so maybe I won’t win the Booker

Or, where did this skin on my neck come from? There is a sentence that keeps sneaking into my mind:
4 min read
01
Jun
The book report for May 2023

The book report for May 2023

Or, memories, dystopia, and...what were we talking about? Bought more books than I read, but what else is new?
2 min read
29
May
The one obligation of Memorial Day

The one obligation of Memorial Day

It is Memorial Day in the United States, a national day of remembrance for those who have fallen in the
1 min read
22
May
Clade longa, vita brevis

Clade longa, vita brevis

Or, the maddening persistence of defeat Esteemed reader, Dr Essai has been traveling, which accounts for the paucity of missives
6 min read
06
May
Dante’s nine circles of hell, updated

Dante’s nine circles of hell, updated

Dr Essai has been brooding on an update to the esteemed poet’s nine circles of hell. The result may be less than a foundation for epic verse, but at least he feels better.
2 min read