Category Archives: Prose

A Writer’s Power

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Malcolm Farley

“…in truth, we have no gift to set a statesman right…” On Being Asked for a War Poem W.B. Yeats This verse from Yeats always sets my head ringing.  My reactions to his wonderful poem are complex, however.  First, Yeats’ … Continue reading →

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Englishing de la Rochefoucauld (The Art of Conversation)

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Malcolm Farley

Maxim 139. One of the reasons why you find so few people who can carry on a rational and pleasing conversation is that there is hardly anyone who doesn’t think more about what he wants to say than about answering … Continue reading →

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Englishing de la Rochefoucauld (Laziness)

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Malcolm Farley

Maxim 54. Of all our passions, laziness is the most unacknowledged.  It is both the most eager and the most malignant motive of all, though its violence cannot be felt and the damage it causes is profoundly hidden.  If we … Continue reading →

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That Curious Metaphor, “Identity Theft”

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Malcolm Farley

Isn’t the apparently rising criminal phenomenon that credit card companies and others term “identity theft,” an odd one, if you think about?  Not the actual crime— I mean—whose motives are obvious, but the phrase, itself, and its metaphoric import? If … Continue reading →

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New Orleans Journal (2004)

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Malcolm Farley

New Orleans Journal (2004) Wanted to visit, and then did, the Lee Memorial. Lee stands atop a Doric column.  His hands are folded over his chest, his left foot forward and the front tip of his shoe extends—in a sort … Continue reading →

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