There is no Iowa Reference Writers’ Workshop.
The Daniel M. Rothschild bangers continue…
Daniel M. Rothschild. “In Praise of Reference Books.” Discourse Magazine, August 30, 2024. https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/in-praise-of-reference-books.
Category: Commonplace Book
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Pish! and Feh! say the reference books. Pick us up as you will and read as much or as little as you choose. Sit in a library and leaf through our pages. Look up a quick item. There are even reference books published specifically for when you’re indisposed, as they say.
Pish! and Feh! – One of my favorite sentence I’ve read all year.
Daniel M. Rothschild. “In Praise of Reference Books.” Discourse Magazine, August 30, 2024. https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/in-praise-of-reference-books.
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The person who worships God and Zeus—out of agnosticism—wants to split the difference. But you cannot split the difference between a life devoted to service and a life devoted to the deification of one’s own ego. Rashi shows us that the abstraction of only God is God can become tangible in our relationship to tradition. Through the observance of the Torah, study of the words of sages, prayer, sacrifice, and selfless deeds, we have a way of making God concrete. It’s not the concretion of an icon, but the realization that we ourselves are the conduit through which God becomes palpable. To put it in Buberian terms, there are times when we can serve to channel God for others, and times when others can serve to channel God for us. Often its hard to tell which is which. Is our hearkening to the prophet, the prophet channeling God, or us enabling the prophet to channel God through the gift of our awareness and deep listening?
– Zohar Atkins
Applies beyond faith.
Atkins, Zohar. Don’t Split the Difference. August 30, 2024. https://etzhasadeh.substack.com/p/dont-split-the-difference.
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you write me now
that the man in the cell next to yours
didn't like my punctuation
the placement of my commas (especially)
and also the way I digress
in order to say something precisely.
ah, he doesn't realize the intent
which is
to loosen up, humanize, relax,
and still make as real as possible
the word on the page. the word should be like
butter or avocados or
steak or hot biscuits, or onion rings or
whatever is really
needed. it should be almost
as if you could pick up the words and
eat them.I did not expect Bukowski to be encouraging.
Bukowski, Charles. What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire. United States, HarperCollins, 2009. pg 116,117
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“There are some things which have no business being put into books for all the world to read.”
– Mr. NorrellClarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury, 2005. pg12
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Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.
This sentence reads like a modern “Once upon a time”. Immediately after reading it I felt like yeah, I want to be part of this story.
Clarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury, 2005. pg3
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Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, lofty origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your brilliance penetrate into the darkness of my understanding and take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of both sin and ignorance. Give me a sharp sense of understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally. Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations, and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in completion; through Christ our Lord Amen
As students return to school and adults return home from holiday a prayer to whisper before the bell rings or logging on to your email.
