Richard Ford
"I didn't want to write a half-assed book. I wanted to write a book that was in your face about what this book wanted to be in your face about and live with the consequences myself."
Tao Te Ching, by Lao-Tzu (excerpts)
Chapter 2: Verse 1. All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skillful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. Chapter 8: Verse 1. The highest …
Self-Reliance, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may. The sentiment they instill is of more value than any thought they may contain. To believe your own thought, to believe …
The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James (Excerpt)
Inner happiness and serviceability do not always agree. What immediately feels most "good" is not always most "true," when measured by the verdict of the rest of experience. The difference between Philip drunk and Philip sober is the classic instance in corroboration. If merely "feeling good" could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human …
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On the Origin of Species (excerpt)
by Charles Darwin In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a naturalist, reflecting on the mutual affinities of organic beings, on their embryological relations, their geographical distribution, geological succession, and other such facts, might come to the conclusion that each species had not been independently created, but had descended, like varieties, …
New Wave Knitters
Until recently, knitting only sparked my interest once before. I was six years old, stuffed on whole milk and liverwurst sandwiches, and waiting on my grandmother's couch for my mother to come pick me up. The room was shadowed with nightfall, blue with television (the evening news), and oppressively boring — the violent clicking of …
The Dhammapada, by Buddha
A Collection of Verses Being One of the Canonical Books of the Buddhists Translated from Pali by F. Max Muller From: The Sacred Books of the East Translated by Various Oriental Scholars Edited by F. Max Muller Volume X Part I Chapter 1: The Twin Verses Chapter 2: On Earnestness Chapter 3: Thought Chapter 4: …
Poetics, by Aristotle
by Aristotle, 350 B.C. I. 'Imitation' the common principle of the Arts of Poetry. II. The Objects of Imitation. III. The Manner of Imitation. IV. The Origin and Development of Poetry. V. Definition of the Ludicrous, and a brief sketch of the rise of Comedy. VI. Definition of Tragedy. VII. The Plot must be a …
Marching Towards Nelson
When I was running away from the army in Swaziland I came across Nelson Mandela's book, No Easy Walk to Freedom. It was a time when I had difficulty with any literature except pornography and Doris Lessing. All the devils of the military were on my tail and it was hard to concentrate. But I …
In the Army Now: The Greg Drobny Saga
One man's account of joining the Armed Forces to defend the American way of life.