Monthly Archives: July 2022

A Novel about Haiti

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Canape-Vert was written eighty years ago by two up-and-coming Haitian writers and chosen for a special prize by – among others – John Dos Passos. It is a novel about old Haiti written by Haitians; about the island peasantry and … Continue reading →

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We Need a ‘Solutions Rebellion’

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Have you noticed that our massive government is no longer able to solve the problems of the real world that affect us? Whatever you believe is the greatest problem – environmental degradation, inflation, crime, health care, world peace – pick … Continue reading →

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On Dune

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Achieving the level of creativity and having the courage to invent something completely new is hard. Usually we regurgitate things we have seen and most stories are the rewriting of other people’s stories. Most fantasy is an attempt to rewrite … Continue reading →

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The Great Gorky

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Do Russians love to suffer, or do they simply find ways to cope with the difficulties that tribe and geography have subjected them to? One cannot but entertain the idea that Russians, perhaps unwillingly but certainly sometimes enthusiastically, tend to … Continue reading →

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Communist Writers and Utopia

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I don’t know what it is about books about writers, but I find them fascinating. My favorite so far is perhaps Vasily Grossman and his book about the Soviet writers workshop built on Lake Sevan in Armenia. At about the … Continue reading →

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A Work of Tremendous Evil

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

This book has been called the most dangerous book ever written. Julius Evola was said to have inspired Mussolini, whose spiritual power he feared. It inspired Goering and Goebbels. More recently, it is often on the tongue of Aleksandr Dugan, … Continue reading →

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On Rediscovering America

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I returned last year to the U.S. from living mostly overseas for a season, ending with the COVID explosion which seemed as good a time as any for a change. I was given what I assume was bad-faith guidance, “Go … Continue reading →

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