Category Archives: love poems to the world

Shepherd’s Pie: Two variations for the trail

The all-time best cookbook for backpackers, sez me, is a long out of print paperback called The Hungry Hiker's Book of Good Cooking, by Gretchen McHugh. Though it dates from l982, it's really from the l970's, complete with vaguely "Joy of Sex" illustrations, on brown paper. But my copy is dog-eared, written up, torn —Continue reading “Shepherd’s Pie: Two variations for the trail”

You do not have to be good: Mary Oliver

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good.You do not have to walk on your kneesfor a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.Meanwhile the world goes on.MeanwhileContinue reading “You do not have to be good: Mary Oliver”

The loneliness of the long-distance floater

From the National Geographic's annual photo contest, by Eric Guth: Is it possible to sense loneliness and loss in a chunk of glacial ice?  Related articles The winning images from Nat Geo's 2012 Photography Competition will blow you away Writers, Artists, Musicians: Where Would We Be If Our Loneliness Left Us Alone? The little girlContinue reading “The loneliness of the long-distance floater”

The sound of 2012: Anthemic, but with banjo or violin

Although Frank Ocean captured the headlines and topped the critics' lists, for yours truly what stands out in pop music this year is the discovery of a consensus acoustic sound that is not rock, for better or worse, and yet is shared by the likes of relatively new bands Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear,Continue reading “The sound of 2012: Anthemic, but with banjo or violin”

Cheryl Strayed: To turn our suffering into beauty

From an unusually rich interview in The Millions, the friendliest of literary sites, with Cheryl Strayed, the author of the great and influential Wild:  Cheryl Strayed: I’ve always thought that the important thing is to turn our suffering into beauty. And the image of the phoenix rising from the ashes has always been super-cool to me,Continue reading “Cheryl Strayed: To turn our suffering into beauty”

Edward Abbey: A place to make a grown man weep

Even a curmudgeon on the subject of Internet video must admit it’s a good thing that a filmmaker had Edward Abbey show him around the Arches National Park, where Abbey was a park ranger…back in l956.    Essay by Edward Abbey “I Loved it…I Loved it All” from Ned Judge on Vimeo.

A great recipe, thirty-five years later: Gypsy Soup

They say a classic is revealed through its ability to stand the test of time. Well, this recipe came out in the original Moosewood cookbook/restaurant in l977, some thirty-five years ago. Yet to me it's new, because I "discovered" it this year, while looking for inexpensive but hearty vegetarian dishes.  Better late than never. And,Continue reading “A great recipe, thirty-five years later: Gypsy Soup”

Around the world with Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg

Today was Walt Whitman's birthday. "Good day for DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act] to be ruled unconstitutional," remarked poet friend Robert Peake from London. A look at how Walt became a poet at all shows the truth of what Robert said: [Whitman] was working as a carpenter, his father's trade, and living with his mother inContinue reading “Around the world with Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg”

The richness of the light of these days: John Muir

Warm and bright, the valley was spanned by fibrous bows of white cloud, heated masses of air from currentless ovens of chambered and bushy rocks lifted by newborn winds and bourne whole or in fragments about the open gulf of the valley…the richness of the light of these days recalls our best mellow autumns andContinue reading “The richness of the light of these days: John Muir”