Having re-cast the 2016 Republican presidential contenders as their literary counterparts, I'm taking a look at the Democrats. Hillary Let's keep gender out of this. Gender---like all demographic attributes---neither qualifies nor disqualifies a candidate for my vote. It would be just as sexist to vote for HRC because she is a woman as it would be not to vote for her because is … Continue reading Wiggle Room and Windmills for the Democrats
Month: February 2016
A Confederacy of (Political) Dunces
I enjoy politics. And I enjoy books. So I've put the two together and re-cast the 2016 presidential contenders as their literary counterparts. Today, the Republicans. Jeb Before the weekend I had Bush playing Ignatius J. Reilly. His shuffling campaign had all the promise of a college-educated person pushing a hot dog cart around the Big Easy. … Continue reading A Confederacy of (Political) Dunces
“Blog Thing”
Two years ago I published my first book review. It was for a work of non-fiction by Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Bryant Wieneke. A returned volunteer myself, I did the review to satisfy a couple of urges. First, it was a service to a comrade, albeit one I'd never met. But we had the same fire … Continue reading “Blog Thing”
Infidelities for Valentine’s Day
It’s just like Michael Hemmingson to be gone. Just when I wanted to thank him for his black Valentine’s Day messages. There’s a world of hurt in his collection Pictures of Houses with Water Damage (Black Lawrence Press, 2010). It’s a numbed kind of hurt, the kind of pain felt after a breakup, whether you wanted to … Continue reading Infidelities for Valentine’s Day
Review: Foreign Service Fiction
Anyone who thinks diplomacy is about choosing the right fork at the right time should think again and read James O'Callaghan’s clever satire No Circuses (Tacchino Press, 2015). Forget preconceived notions of dinner-party diplomacy: keeping one’s elbows off the table, tangoing the rival into submission, and writing it up the next day in communiqués to DC. What diplomacy’s really about, in O’Callaghan’s world, … Continue reading Review: Foreign Service Fiction
Ben East Books 