Classic VW
Month: June 2026
A legacy of handwritten letters
When was the last time you received a handwritten letter?
Reading through a legacy of letters captures the exchange of ideas in a sustained, generational conversation between a father and a son.
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “Letter writing, a vanishing art,” June 29, 2012, weblog, accessed June 16, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2012/06/29/field-notes-letter-writing-a-vanishing-art/
‘locking yourself in a prison of your own creation’
Early days of remote work
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “world coffee café,” June 26, 2009, weblog, accessed June 16, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2009/06/26/editing-audio-studying-for-next-weeks-poetry/
It rained all day
The open window provided a soundtrack of drizzle and drips. A song by Lorenz Dangel and Max Richter1 played on the stereo. The music reminded me of a night,2 and a poem,3 and a Nikon S600 digital camera I no longer have in my possession.
NOTES:
1) Rosie Pentreath, “Max Richter’s ‘On the Nature of Daylight’ in film and television,” July 2025, Australian Chamber Orchestra, accessed June 17, 2026, https://www.aco.com.au/news/2025-july/max-richter-on-the-nature-of-daylight-tv-film
2) Coffeehousejunkie, “Last night at the New French Bar,” April 25, 2017, weblog, accessed June 17, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2017/04/25/poem-4-last-night-at-the-new-french-bar/
3) Coffeehousejunkie, “Last night at the New French Bar,” April 25, 2017, weblog, accessed June 17, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2017/04/25/poem-4-last-night-at-the-new-french-bar/
Vanishing art of film photography
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “Vanishing art,” June 27, 2012, weblog, accessed June 16, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2012/06/27/11684/
Summer solstice 2026
The intent1 was to watch the sun set and watch full, strawberry moon rise on the summer solstice.2 But I fell asleep and awoke after 1 a.m. — cloudy, nighttime pondering of lessons in risk management.3 A few hours later, I watch the light brighten the room4 as I prepare for a morning walk.
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “Best intentions,” June 21, 2016, weblog, accessed June 16, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2016/06/21/best-intentions/
2) Bob Berman, “Summer Solstice Full Moon in June!,” The Old Farmer’s Almanac, accessed June 20, 2016 http://www.almanac.com/blog/astronomy/astronomy/summer-solstice-full-moon-june (page no longer available)
3) Gregory Orr, “Farther’s Song,” Academy of American Poets, accessed June 20, 2016 https://poets.org/poem/fathers-song
4) Charles Simic, “Secret History,” The Writer’s Almanac, June 19, 2016, accessed June 20, 2016 https://www.writersalmanac.org/episodes/20160619/
Confession about nightstand books
I may have only finished reading one or two of those books. But I definitely read both issues of Poetry magazine.
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “Nightstand reading,” June 20, 2011, weblog, accessed June 16, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2011/06/20/night-stand-reading/
Try something new with something old
To commemorate a poem published 20 years ago, I composed a little drawing to mark the occasion. The epsicle episode1 provides a modest response to a small poem inspired by the inventor of a summertime snack, the popsicle, is Frank Epperson.
The kagenashi art style is unfamiliar to me. Inspired by Studio Ghibli films and a newly discovered manga graphic novel, Hirayasumi, I thought I would give it a try.
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “Epsicle episode,” June 8, 2006, weblog, accessed June 17, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2006/06/08/epsicle-episode/
Good haunting
A good poem haunts a reader.1 Even after a decade these poems follow me.
From Vera Pavlova:2
Why is the word yes so brief?
It should be
the longest,
the hardest,
so that you could not decide in an instant to say it…
And Khaled Mattawa:3
The rule is everyone is a gypsy now.
Everyone is searching for his tribe.
And final, John Keats:4
The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees…
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “A good poem is like a good film — haunting,” June 14, 2010, weblog, accessed June 16, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2010/06/14/a-good-poem-is-like-a-good-film-%e2%80%94-haunting/
2) Vera Pavlova, “If There Is Something to Desire, 9, 17, 18,” June 14, 2010, Academy of American Poets (poets.org), accessed June 16, 2026, https://poets.org/poem/if-there-something-desire-9-17-18
3) Khaled Mattawa, “Ecclesiastes,” June 14, 2010, Academy of American Poets (poets.org), accessed June 16, 2026, https://poets.org/poem/ecclesiastes
4) John Keats, “On the Grasshopper and the Cricket,” (not everything is on the internet… so times you need to unplug and find a candle and book)
At Ringside
Will anyone believe it? Nearly twenty years ago The Blotter invited The Traveling Bonfires to Ringside for music and poetry.
NOTES:
1) Coffeehousejunkie, “The Traveling Bonfires invade Durham,” June 16, 2007, weblog, accessed June 16, 2026, https://coffeehousejunkie.net/2007/06/16/the-traveling-bonfires-invade-durham/
The conversation went like this
Coffeehouse Junkie 