'Just World News' with Helena Cobban

MTV-U's Poet Laureate: Simin Behbahani

MTV (Music Television) "University" has selected Simin Behbahani, "the poet who never sold her soul or her pen," to be its second poet laureate. For a visually challenged 82-years-young Iranian,...

Noa & Mira -- confusing the categories

(Update, after making this post, I've been alerted that there's another side to Noa lately that rather undermines her reputation. I'll post a separate entry above.) There's something ironic, yet...

Tewks: "Let the Children Dance"

I recently highlighted Gina Bennett's National Security Mom, with it's marvelous drawing from the "lessons we teach our children" to understand national security. I've been wondering then what lessons Israel...

Ever On, Dan Fogelberg (1951-2007)

(Note - this is Scott writing.) Independent thinkers, activists, and peacemakers have lost a friend in the passing yesterday of Dan Fogelberg. Just 56, Dan "the artist" Fogelberg succumbed to...

Bush in Vietnam

In Vietnam (at last) he did not even realise how foolish his words....

Wilfred Owen poem for the day

I just found a marvellous new source for Wilfred Owen's war poetry, thanks to Oxford University. It lets you view multiple manuscript versions of these poems. And today's poem is......

Wilfred Owen's gut-socking words

Down in the lengthy Gallipoli discussion commenter Friendly Fire has posted a favorite poem of his, a rather thoughtful piece of war remembrance, "Poppies of war", by E.M. Warnock. I've...

JWN poetry corner-- # 1

I read this in The New Yorker, and was moved by it: Now, when the waters are pressing mightily by Yehuda Amichai Now, when the waters are pressing mightily on...