By John Marin —————————————————– AILANTHUS Please take a moment and think about the Ailanthus. No-one plans it. No-one plants it. No-one waters, Or prunes, Or sprays it, Or gives it plant food or weed killer or even manure. It squeezes between tall buildings, Through sidewalk gratings, And cracks in concrete, And in angles of fences […]
Author Archives: bingregory
Catching up
I’ve been neglecting my website of late. Two entries in 2 months? I won’t be winning any blogging awards that way. Well, in fact I did manage to split the win for Macvaysia‘s Best Malaysian Weblog by a Mat Salleh Award. (Mat Salleh?) That could only be because it wouldn’t be fair for the more […]
The Fortress of Solitude
Thank you to Michael B. who wrote to say that Ailanthus shows up in the novel “The Fortress of Solitude” by Jonathan Lethem, a novel about growing up white in a black neighborhood in Brooklyn. Until I can track down a copy of the book for an excerpt, I’ll make do with Michael’s words that […]
The Element of Lavishness
The Element of Lavishness: Letters of William Maxwell and Sylvia Townsend Warner, 1938-1978 Maxwell to Warner, March 15, 1940: I have all but one foot out of the office, but continue to work a little each day on manuscripts, and will for another month and a half, with the mornings free to work out my […]
Eid Mubarak, Selamat Hari Raya
Two, three cat running Not the same dog running Two, three day more raya coming Everything is ready huh?? Pandan Island far-far in the middle Daik Mountain has three branches During Ramadhan everybody struggles So during Syawal don’t spoil the chances Jump frog jump Jump high-high What knowledge u try Ketupat rendang very delicious High-high […]
Strange Fruit pt. 6: Rambai & Tampoi
Some of the fruit here in Malaysia are so good I wonder why they are not marketed more in the US. Some of the other fruit though, you understand why. There must be a half dozen fruits here that are very different in shape and size, remarkable to look at. Inside though, there is just a small grape sized fruit that is a little sweet, a little tart, you suck on it for a second and then it’s done. Tampoi is like that.
Ailanthus in the Underworld
Ailanthus shows up in Don DeLillo’s book Underworld. It is a very bleak chapter, describing two nuns distributing alms in a bombed-out area of the South Bronx filled with abandoned cars, cripples, utter desolation. The landscape and the people who live in it are vividly described through the eyes of the senior nun, Sister Edgar. […]
About Me (and John Walker Lindh)
When John Walker Lindh’s story first broke, I remember reading about it and thinking, Good Lord, he could be my brother. I put together the chart below as one of my first web projects. It feels dated now somehow. Maybe people don’t even remember who John Walker Lindh is. Here is what I wrote about […]