It began as the GODFATHER OF MATH, evolved into the GOODFATHER OF MATH. Now this. Go figure...

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The kind of humor I like is the thing that makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes = G. CARLIN...Stain glass, engraved glass, frosted glass
–give me plain glass = JOHN FOWLES ... Music is the mathematics of the gods=PYTHAGORAS ... Nothing is more fluid than language = R. L. SWIHART
I cannot live without the oxygen of laughter = DAWN POWELL ... !!! ... But laughter cannot survive without the hydrogen of gravitas = PAUL OLIVERIO
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Sunday, February 6, 2022

Upon Reading The Non-Fiction Of Umberto Eco + Tom Wolfe

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When these two authors write about
culture and its components,
few—if any—writers 
do it better 
 
Their writing
conjures an image of
atop the mountain,
sitting cross-legged
with his thumb
up in the air
 
His readers are gathered below,
attuned to every word he says
 
When he's finished,
a man dressed as a jackal
takes the stage.
 
Verbal calisthenics
are his act:
syntactical somersaults
with saber-toothed
syllables.
 
The jackal is 
 
The name of the mountain
is 
:::

©  PAUL OLIVERIO  ©
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4 comments:

  1. I agree with you completely—and humorously—about the sociological writing
    of Mr. Eco and Mr. Wolfe.
    There is, however, one major difference between the two:
    Umberto's novels are just as compelling but that is not
    the case with the Wolfe man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wolfe's novels might have been just as compelling
      if he hadn't scared away the copy editor

      Delete
    2. Might have been is very powerful language.

      Delete