dennis scharnberg

adventures in selfhood

The awful screeching of the

                                                             seabirds

Stirreth him not, sir.

On this morrow, never.

William Southey, A Captain’s Fancie.         (1612)

Priscilla Fanning, Fragments From the Jacobean Stage.

bleak lives matter

Her head movements while speaking provided evidence that Brenda did care.

Leighton Johns,  My Uncle Toby.

towering modern novels

It is too easy for us to forget what a miserable thing advertising is.

Roger Sensabaugh,  A Short History of Boredom.

beak to claw

The internet means the ruination of all.  Not just of this and that.

Roger Hedgecook, Stolen and Sold for Parts.

endless doubling down

“Doors are one of the main reasons we have buildings,” said Margaret softly.

Benedict Elder, A Cosmopolitan Paradise.

yes to everything

“Contemporary novels are dead on arrival.”  Colin’s statement just hung in the air.  It found no takers.

Charles Jeffrey Yett, Writing in Miniature—Vol. Three.

illusion of pleasure

“Some people actually wish for a hellish outcome,” said Coventry.  “It is insanity to give them a voice.”

Giles Coxe-Coburn, Tooth and Claw.

sense of proportion

“…and herewith a liste compleat and satisfactorie of the tymely strandes of Sinfull Way in the greater towne of London….”

Will Bastwyck,  “Deathe Upon That Entyre Towne.”      (1627)

Paul Crackenthorpe, English Pamphleteers of the Seventeenth Century.

particles in motion

“One of Ronald’s essays is titled ‘Honesty as Theater.’  Now, that alone should tell you.  Are you listening, Diana?”

Ralston Dowd,  Less of It.

calm and measured

Why pay attention to surroundings when you have a smartphone in your pocket?

Roger Hedgecook, Stolen and Sold for Parts.