Category Archives: Uncategorized

3,000,000 – I Grieve

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

Does the earth itself despair, when the strain is too much? When the tears fall down like rain upon screens shorting-out from the warm salty deluge that makes its way onto hardened cement floors of basements or the solid stone … Continue reading →

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Adios Hemingway

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

Writers hate other writers. That’s the secret. Maybe not a particularly well-kept one. Its usually professional jealousy – we don’t want to give legitimacy to the fame of others, happier to accrue their success to winds of fate or connections … Continue reading →

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Red Pawn – A Review

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

This comic book tells the tale of sacrifice. “How can that be?” You will ask. “It is a story by Ayn Rand, after all. Isn’t she only about how to be selfish?” There is no greater love of self than … Continue reading →

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A River Runs Through It

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

In days of angst and rage it is to art, and specifically to literature that we return to remind us of the American experience and what it means to be part of each other. “Eventually, all things merge into one, and … Continue reading →

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Why Not A Jubilee?

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

There’s nothing that highlights the coming financial debacle like the news I read this morning: Costa Rica is considering open-pit gold mining and deep sea fracking to cover the epic, yawning, gaping hole in their finances. Um, say what??? Now, … Continue reading →

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“Apocalypse Never” – A Must Read

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

Does the sight of a dolphin make you sad? Does the gentle lapping of the sea only make you think of the plastic water-bottle in your hand? Does a sunset fill you with fear and panic? Do you look at … Continue reading →

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Soviet Short Stories

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

There are few like the great Russian masters. Perhaps its the harsh winters that encourage contemplation; maybe its the beauty of the Russian language itself, with its depth of tenses and tremendous descriptive power that encourages people to put ideas, … Continue reading →

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As 2020 Unravels, Grab a Book…

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

As this year unravels, as the stories of tragedy and mayhem stack themselves up one atop the other in the cementing pressure of misery which we will carry with us, oh probably forever, I was thinking about the last 15 … Continue reading →

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“Out of Africa” – A Book Review

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

I once said I would write more of Africa. I have found it hard to keep that promise. I lived upon that continent for a decade, in Central, East and also West Africa – working the civil wars that ravage … Continue reading →

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Our Summer of ’20

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Joel D. Hirst

Summer is winding down. The weather is beginning to cool off, at least in some places, and “Back To School” season is upon us. Book-bags and binders and lunch-bags. And face-masks – for though summer is over, the strangeness of … Continue reading →

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