ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Jan Herman

Avatar photo
5 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

Five Brief Stanzas from a Scottish-born Poet

as a brief visitor to my ear a fly droned on about some matter or other that was too brief for me to catch

On Yom Kippur My Atonement Is Weak

Cold Turkey Press published this card four years ago in a limited edition. It applies now more than ever.

Double-Barrelled: From Rainbows to Gunboats

On Sept. 11, 2023, from a perch above the East River you could see a sky-wide rainbow over New York City. On Sept. 18, from the same perch, you could see U.S. Coast Guard boats patrolling the East River as part of extensive security put in place for the opening of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

If You Believe in Auguries . . .

. . . the double rainbow over New York City on 9/11/2023 was a good sign. Even if you don't believe in them, this was wondrous to see. My amateur video was taken from Manhattan overlooking the East River, the 59th Street bridge (since renamed, but never mind), and Roosevelt Island. Too bad the colors are washed out. The real thing was much more impressive. I've searched the daily NY newspapers to see whether they ran a photo or a video. Only the NY Post took note here with a video less complete than this one. Another amateur video appeared on TikTok and racked up 6 million views. Television broadcasts also took note. I can't believe a professional photographer somewhere in the city didn't capture this in what used to be called "living color."

Anselm Kiefer’s Large ‘Winter Forest’ Up Close

A mere detail from the central panel of the painting is overwhelming.
function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');