Words & Music

by Mike Power

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  • Happy Valentine’s Day

    In 1992, when the statue of Gertrude Stein was installed in Bryant Park it became the first statue of a woman in any of New York City’s parks. It had been 136 since the first statue of a person was unveiled – George Washington in Union Square.   She wrote this short, sweet valentine poem… Read more

  • The Lost Art of Letter Writing: The Philosophical Diatribe

    It is said that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. didn’t edit his novels. Instead, he thought about each sentence in his head and did his revisions there before committing it to paper. It seems like he took the same approach to his letter writing. This excerpt of a letter from Vonnegut to his friend and mentor Knox… Read more

  • This is Not Happening to You

    I was introduced to Tim Tomlinson’s writing through his poetry, which I recommend highly to those who love poetry, and even more highly to those who don’t. You might find your distaste for poems is relieved after reading a few of his. Tim’s poems often feel like fiction, so I thought I knew what to… Read more

  • The Impermanence of Human Life

    We are helpless in this world. The years and months slip past Like a swift stream, which grasps and drags us down. A hundred pains pursue us, one by one. Girls, with the wrists clasped round With Chinese jewels, join hands And play their youth away. But time cannot be stopped, And when their youth… Read more

  • That Scoundrel Love

    Left at home Locked in a chest, That scoundrel love Has grasped me again. Prince Hozumi Fifth son of Japanese Emperor Temmu Acting Prime Minister from 705 until his death in 715 Read more

  • Candide

    I thought Candide was funny at first. It is an easy mistake to make in the first chapter where we meet Candide and his beloved Cunegonde: On her way back to the castle she met Candide. She blushed, and so did he. She greeted him in a faltering voice, and he spoke to her without… Read more