Charles van Heck
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To be “resilient optimists” in a Time of Crisis
In my hometown of Oakland, New Jersey, there are two lakes: Mirror Lake and Crystal Lake. My family home was on Mirror Lake, which was commonly known as “Little Lake.” I recall the summer days when we neighborhood children gathered… Continue reading
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Translating Judith Herzberg
The Dutch poet and playwright Judith Herzberg has presented the world with a body of work that reveals her sensitivity to fine details of a moment, those details she observes, and to the language required to express the subject. She… Continue reading
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RUPTURED
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is right. The prime minister is correct when he says there is “a rupture in the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a harsh reality.” He is accurate when… Continue reading
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A World Without Rules
A friend commented the other day that he noticed I was shifting my attention. “You’re posting poetry. Are you writing more poems?” Actually, yes. I took a hiatus from poetry to write two novels, travel, paint, garden, and begin the… Continue reading
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Still Life
Still LifeSpreading dawnDelicate pearl-pinkFiery red weaves ragged cloudsA cardinal dartsAmong snow powderedSpruce branchesSpinkling snow dustOn grave stones Plastic Christmas flowersRibboned wreathsA mourning dove coo-oosHoney coloredLight spreads blue shadowsBeyond the wrought-iron fenceMorning rush hour trafficPasses on a gray thread of roadPoem:… Continue reading
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On Art: Time, Light and Perspective
When I first took up painting with the encouragement of the Canadian artists Terrill Welch and her husband, David Colussi, Terrill advised me to include notes on my sensory experiences when sketching a scene. These notes would include the time… Continue reading
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Jazz Notes
In the oblique stagelight moon,He, closing his weary raven eyes,Lips puckered, lifts his trumpet.On a breath, deep from his lungs,A burst, a single improvised note,Rises, from the arteries of his soul,Free to the bell’s silver flair height,He teases melodic notes… Continue reading
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Thucydides and Global Destabilization
I wonder if anyone in the White House has troubled themselves to read Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War? There must be a copy lying around somewhere. If not, perhaps a staff member could request that a copy be sent… Continue reading
Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal 