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Author Archives: lfpbe
‘And Don’t Have Any Kids Yourself’: Philip Larkin, Charles Darwin, and the Biology of Choice
In graduate school I loved Larkin’s poem “This Be the Verse” – who doesn’t? – but I was determined to find it somehow ironic. I’d like to say that I had read enough of Larkin’s to know that much of … Continue reading
Read-For-Maybe-Two-Hours Friday (by Bethany)
I was all set to start a new tradition today: Read-All-Day Friday. Friday is the only day each week that I predictably don’t have any work commitments, and since I’ve been feeling a little short on high-quality me time lately, … Continue reading
Yarn Along
I’m still not much of a knitter these days, but my English rib sweater is almost done. I’m sure I’ll get the neckband done this weekend, and then I’ll weave in the ends maybe… in April? May? Just kidding. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Yarn Along
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Early Thoughts on Michel Houellebecq’s Submission
I suspect that this book will go down in literary history not for its merits but for its eerie timeliness. It was published in French earlier this year, but the English translation was released just a few weeks before the … Continue reading
That Time Shakespeare Woke Up One Morning and Invented Modern Narrative: Final Thoughts on The Winter’s Tale
I feel a little silly for wondering why Shakespeare titled this play The Winter’s Tale, especially since I used to devote a week or so in 10th-grade English to the way seasons are used metaphorically in poetry, including Shakespeare’s – … Continue reading
Thoughts on Christopher Hitchens’ Thomas Jefferson: Author of America
Robert Frost has been much on my mind lately – probably because my birthday is approaching. Along with Philip Larkin, Frost is the poet that best captures for me the slow but orderly forward motion of time. At the same … Continue reading
The Ugliest Radio in the West
So it’s 11:54 here at Postcards from Purgatory, and Jill and I have pledged to post every day this month (I’m going to lobby for every day this year, but don’t tell Jill). But see, the thing is, my day … Continue reading
Posted in Glimpses into Real Life, Uncategorized
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Yarn Along
This lump of prickly paleness is my knitting life at the moment. I always knit when I am watching TV (or movies… or MOOC’s), and I have had very little interest in TV lately. Even Downton Abbey, which I usually … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Yarn Along
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From the Notebooks
One of my favorite parts of being a writer (besides the poverty and carpal tunnel syndrome, of course) is the fact that when it’s late and I’m tired and there’s a blog post to get done, I can open my … Continue reading
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A Review of Sarah Vowell’s Lafayette in the Somewhat United States
Sarah Vowell has been a favorite of mine for a few years, ever since I read The Wordy Shipmates. If I could stomach NPR, I probably would have known of her sooner. Sarah Vowell does for American history what I … Continue reading
Postcards From Purgatory 