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I think of a better way to begin a week than listening to Saint Jerry. Enjoy! Read more
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Poet Louise Glück (1943-2023) was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island. She won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature. Though she attended both Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University, she never received a degree. Glück’s poems are spare, mythic, and beautiful. She doesn’t waste words or images. If poetry is defined as being… Read more
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The month of January here at ClimbingSky this year is dedicated to Poetry. It is something I read every day, wrestle with most days, and has been a constant in my life since my teen years. For those counting, that is five decades now and counting. I am not sure how many books of poetry,… Read more
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The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. -Dylan Thomas Read more
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Over the past year and a half, ClimbingSky has grown into a daily rhythm of reading, reflection, baseball, and the small joys that come from living through books and stories. As the site continues to settle into its identity, I’ve shaped a clearer yearly calendar for myself. It is based around seasonal themes that anchor… Read more
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2025 is coming to a close. We survived the first year of Trump 2.0 by the skin of our teeth. But as a country, as a culture we are greatly diminished. It will take years to undo the damage already done. But in my heart I am afraid the damage is too consequential, too permanent.… Read more
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My good friend Bob (who is also a writer and loyal follower of ClimbingSky) recently visited The Abbey of Gethsemane in Kentucky with his wife. The Trappist monastery was the home of Thomas Merton. It got me thinking about some of my favorite quotes from Merton. Here are a few that I think my fellow… Read more
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Last Monday I featured a Lester Young video with the great Hank Jones on piano. Jones is one of my favorite Jazz pianists. Here is a video of Jones playing “Oh Look At Me Now.” Enjoy! Read more
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I have mentioned here before that I have a small collection of poems on my iPhone called “Poems in My Pocket.” They are poems that I reread again and again. One of these poems—and probably my favorite Carl Sandburg poem—is “Three Pieces on the Smoke of Autumn.” It is Sandburg at his best and most… Read more
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George Bellairs was the nom de plume of Harold Blundell (1902–1982), a crime writer and bank manager born in Lancashire. This is the first of his works that I have read. The Dead Shall be Raised was first published in 1942. It begins with London-based Inspector Thomas Littlejohn going to spend a quiet Christmas holiday in the small town of Hatterworth where his… Read more
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