Tag Archives: Mary Washington College

Sherlock Nolan.

So tell me these aren’t the coolest themed birthday gifts ever.  An amazing lady gave me the complete Sherlock Holmes library in beautifully bound collector’s volumes, a can of Victorian London Fog tea, and a magnifying glass for investigations of my own (because I’m on to you people).

What you see up top is a wool herringbone flat cap of the kind Watson would wear.  (My benefactor here wisely deduced that Holmes’ deerstalker cap would look funny on me.)

Another pal of mine (and an MWC alum) made me homemade pizza yesterday too — complete with herbs from his own garden.  (No, not the extralegal kind — we’re talking basil and stuff.)  I truly am surrounded by the best people in life.




presents

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Spillwords Press features “Her Son, Her Daughter”

I’m honored to share here today that Spillwords Press published my short poem, “Her Son, Her Daughter.”  You can find it right here.

Thanks once again to Dagmara K. and the rest of the editorial staff at Spillwords Press!




New Glasses Nolan Sez Hello

I actually went to some trouble to get these glasses.  It’s a long story that I won’t bore you with — but it involved a late night road trip with a fellow writer and seizing discount Twizzlers.

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BUK THE SYSTEM!!

Great news! I’m honored to share here that Newington Blue Press will feature a flash fiction story of mine in the third and final volume of “Buk 100.”  The publisher is based in Germany, and produces the “Buk 100” commemorative chapbook series as an homage to German-American writer Charles Bukowski.  The first two volumes were beautifully crafted and filled with outstanding contributions from around the world.  Thanks once again to Matthias Krueger for including my work.

The story is entitled “Bill and I,” and is my stab at spinning a Bukowski-esque vignette.   I’ll share ordering details when they become available.




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By GFreihalter – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18740517

“I am a Trump supporter. Hear me roar.”

“The Credo of Cognitive Dissonance,” by Eric Robert Nolan


Any news that I dislike is fake.

Anyone with knowledge that I myself do not possess is a liar.

Anyone criticizing my preferred candidate is a traitor.

Any election results that I dislike mean that the election was rigged.

Any civil servant with whom I disagree is a member of a criminal conspiracy against me.

Any member of a minority group who exercises the same rights that I currently have is demanding special treatment.

Any news source that reports things in a manner that I dislike is part of THE MEDIA — a vast and monolithic conspiracy insidiously designed to brainwash me. Never mind that I cannot begin to suggest how such a sprawling conspiracy — involving countless ordinary people throughout America — might be organized, led, financed or coordinated.

Any news source that reports things in a manner that I DO like is not part of the dread monolith of THE MEDIA. My preferred news sources should be referred to by their individual names, like Fox News, O.A.N., Newsmax or MyPillow.com.

If one of these news sources begins to report things that I do not like, then it has “sold out” or been “taken over” by liberals, because any deviation from my preferred narrative is false. Then I will retreat to my carefully curated short list of blogs and Youtube channels, which will even better safeguard me from indoctrination.

Anyone who disagrees with me is an anarchist (or a socialist or a Marxist). My inability to define those terms in any detail makes them no less valid an accusation.

Anyone who exceeds my own accomplishments in arts, academia or communications is an elitist. I am more average than they are — and am therefore paradoxically superior. Never mind that this is far closer to the spirit of actual Marxism than the drive for individual achievement is — the Marxists are those OTHER guys. You can tell by the way they dress. You can tell by the way they talk.

My common sense is more trustworthy than any conclusion drawn from evidence — because I know how the REAL world works. I know this because I am a REAL American. It doesn’t matter that I cannot describe the First Amendment, or describe the concept of inalienable rights, or explain what separation of powers is, or even name the three branches of the American government.

My ignorance stems from humility — not intellectual laziness. My rejection of science shows I am wise. A wink and a smile will infuse any assertion of mine with the veracity of folk wisdom.

I distrust all the so-called “experts.” Things I do not like or understand are, by necessity, lies. A man’s knowledge and his honesty are inversely proportional. (This is an axiom that’s remarkably convenient for good people like me, who tend to possess less knowledge than others.) And my anthropomorphic god surely loves the humble and simple and honest folk more than the false and the arrogant.

My opinions and actions are intrinsically more American than those of others. You can tell this from the way that I pepper my language with phrases like “We the people,” “patriots,” “liberty” or “1776.” If I co-opt the language of the American Revolution, then no action of mine can be anti-American. This includes violently overthrowing America’s democratically elected government under instructions from an aspiring dictator. Terrorism is acceptable, just so long as I am play-acting a colonial American while perpetrating it.

I should be congratulated, instead of despised — lauded instead of detested. My shouts and threats and will enliven the heart, where bland and passionless reason cannot. The flag on my t-shirt is an unassailable license — to assail the very same Republic for which it is meant as an emblem.

I am a Trump supporter. Hear me roar. 




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Photo credit: Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

“school shooter” nominated for spillwords Press Publication of the Month

Hey, gang — turns out I’ve been nominated to receive Publication of the Month from Spillwords Press for my poem, “school shooter.”

If you’re feeling so inclined, you can vote for the piece right here.




Peeking Cat Literary publishes “The Rough, Violet Stone”

There’s a brand new poem of mine up over at Peeking Cat Literary — its title is “The Rough, Violet Stone” and you can find it right here.

I’m especially pleased because the poem was also selected for the next Peeking Cat Literary Anthology, scheduled for release in October 2021.  Peeking Cat Literary is the new incarnation of the former Peeking Cat Poetry Magazine, which recently returned after a one-year hiatus.

Thanks once again to Editor Sam Rose! I am honored indeed to see my poem both online today and scheduled for the print anthology.





Throwback Thursday: postcard from Mary Washington College, circa 1930-1945

Print postcard, linen texture.

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Rest easy, Chris Irvine.

Rest easy, Chris Irvine — Mary Washington College Class of 1994.  Pro Deo Domo Patria.

Chris passed away Sunday following his battle with Covid-19.






My poetry, 2020

2020 might have been a bad year, but it was the best year yet for my poetry: My Poetry and Satire, 2020.  (Maybe my muse is societal nigh collapse.)

Anyway, thanks for coming along for the ride.  🙂