- Thomas Hardy was born on 6/2/1840. “And yet to every bad there is a worse.”
- Barbara Pym was born on 6/2/1913. “My thoughts went round and round and it occurred to me that if I ever wrote a novel it would be of the ‘stream of consciousness’ type and deal with an hour in the life of a woman at the sink.”-Excellent Women
- George S. Kaufman died on 6/2/1961. “When I invite a woman to dinner, I expect her to look at my face. That’s the price she has to pay.”
- Franz Kafka died on 6/3/1924. “A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.”
- Allen Ginsberg was born on 6/3/1926. “America, how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood?”-America
- Harry Crosby was born on 6/4/1898. “When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to anyone. It is like murdering a part of them.”
- Arna Bontemps died on 6/4/1973. “There will be better days when I am gone And healing pools where I cannot be healed”-Nocturne at Bethesda
[All images are in the Public Domain and are courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 
Holy cow! Hardy, Kafka and Ginsberg. Whoa.
LikeLike
I know, right? All in the same edition! This is why I scaled back to a few days at a time from a week; there’s usually just too much goodness.
LikeLike
I love the Harry Crosby quote.
LikeLike
Me, too. Typical Crosby.
LikeLike
You like them tragic figures, eh?
I’ve never read Harry Crosby, so as not to mislead.
LikeLike
Although it is true that I am often drawn to tragic figures, Harry Crosby has always, for lack of a grown-up phrase, rather icked me out. I feel no affinity for him, but he was a fascinating (and disturbed) individual with an interesting talent. As was Polly/Caresse.
LikeLike
Loved the Kaufman quote.
LikeLike
I’ve loved that quote for years; it is definitely my fave from GSK. And he made a lot of witty, erudite statements over the years.
LikeLike