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February 5, 2024

The Cartoon & Poem Supplement

The Cartoon & Poem Supplement

"This winged toddler..."

Poems:

"Definition" by Michael Ondaatje: An extended etymological dive into Sanskrit is quite lovely (and reminded me of friend-of-a-friend Walter Ancarrow's thoughtful [though edgier] work) – though it's odd to jump from gorgeous ambiguities like "landscapes nudge the dialect" to the thudding English-class couplet "Wherever you turn / definitions push open a door." The late turn into flowery romantic meditation is less my thing; I struggle with descriptions of being "lost" in love. (Isn't it that you're found?)

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