Category Archives: POETIC NONSENSE

Poetry by Lawrence R. Spencer. Poetic nonsense by Lawrence R. Spencer and others. Haiku poems by Lawrence R. Spencer.

...and other stuff, ART, INSIDE THE BOOK, LIVES, POETIC NONSENSE, READING MATTER, The Real Johannes Vermeer, THE VERMEER WOMEN, VERMEER REVEALED

DELUSIONAL or HERETICAL?

May 12, 2026 LRS

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

“I am very sure that my new book, Vermeer: Portraits of A Lifetime, will be considered by many people to be delusional or heretical. Many will dismiss my observations and comments because they don’t follow the dictates of “authoritative research” or the opinions of art “experts”.

This book may threaten persons who have a financial vested interest in the Vermeer paintings that still exist today, as their livelihood or financial well-being depend to some degree on the value currently assigned to the paintings.

Although the monetary value of Vermeer’s paintings have been vastly inflated, in part, due to the mystique created by authorities or speculators, it is not my intention to devaluate them. It is not my intention to invalidate property that was sold or bartered by Vermeer and his wife, Catharina, hundreds of years ago. Quite the contrary.

My intention is to honor the lives of Johannes, Catharina, their eleven surviving children and Maria Thins, his mother-in-law and patroness.

This book does not represent or endorse any financial, spiritual, religious, political organization or practice or philosophy of any kind. All personal observations and opinions offered by the author herein are purely and solely personal opinions, with no other source than those noted in the footnotes or appendix.

Any and all individuals or organizations from whom research and/or opinions have been borrowed or sited for referential purposes in this book are not affiliated with and do not in any way acknowledge the validity of or endorse the findings or assertions of the author or publisher of this book.

Finally, this book is not intended for people who have a vested interest, or who “know best”. Personal observations, whether visual, empathetic or conjectural, of the author about the life and death of Vermeer, 300 years after the fact, are wholly subjective.”

Vermeer: Portraits of A Lifetime https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/vermeer-portraits-lifetime/id569744974

Paperback book —

AUDIOBOOK — http://www.audible.com/pd/Arts-Entertainment/Vermeer-Audiobook/B009NVX2PM/ref=a_search_c4_1_4_srTtl?qid=1392802819&sr=1-4

...and other stuff, ART, LIVES, PICTURE POEMS, POETIC NONSENSE, READING MATTER, UNIVERSES

SHADOW HAIKU

May 11, 2026 LRS

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression. Haiku began in thirteenth-century Japan. In contrast to English verse typically characterized by meter, Japanese verse counts sound units known as “on” or morae. Traditional haiku consist of 17 on, in three phrases of five, seven and five on respectively. Among contemporary poems teikei (定型 fixed form) haiku continue to use the 5-7-5 pattern while jiyuritsu (自由律 free form) haiku do not.

A Classic EXAMPLE:

An old pond!

A frog jumps in–

the sound of water.

For more detailed information about Haiku, visit the website,

HOW TO WRITE A HAIKU POEM: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem

ART, BULLSHIT, FREE ADVICE, INSIDE THE BOOK, LIVES, POETIC NONSENSE, READING MATTER

THE NATURE OF MAN

May 10, 2026 LRS

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Candide: or, The Optimist (1762)It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism (or simply “optimism”) by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide’s slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not rejecting optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, “we must cultivate our garden”, in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, “all is for the best” in the “best of all possible worlds”.

Candide is characterised by its sarcastic tone as well as by its erratic, fantastical and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel with a story similar to that of a more serious Bildungsroman, it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is mordantly matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years’ War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. As philosophers of Voltaire’s day contended with the problem of evil, so too does Candide in this short novel, albeit more directly and humorously. Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers through allegory; most conspicuously, he assaults Leibniz and his optimism.

François-Marie Arouet (French: 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of several liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day.