“It seems to me it cannot be wrong to read good poetry an entire morning if you happen to be particularly receptive in that respect, because when you are poetically receptive you see so much of life behind the words.”-Wanda Gág
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Tag Archives: Poets
Daily Diversion #33: A View from the Cemetery Floor
A view from the cemetery floor.
“He could not die when trees were green, for he loved the time too well.”-John Clare
Shopping for the Bookworm: Patti Smith Edition
I love Patti Smith. My fingers are itching to get carried away in rhapsodies about her, but my head insists that I maintain restraint. At least for today. The need for a long essay has been forcing its way into my brain, so you’ll likely see something on here soon. Until then, enjoy these Patti-themed goods from Etsy!
Nautical poster print with Patti Smith quote by Grainyman. $34.90
The combination of image and quote is just plain lovely.
Patti Smith Group Easter on vinyl from Drop The Needle. $20.00
A classic on vinyl.
Patti Smith key chain by Ultravioletglam Designs. $10.00
This is probably my favourite photo of Patti Smith. A key chain equals portable inspiration.
Patti Smith pocket planner, 2012-2013 by Rock ‘n Roll Rebellion. $7.95
A practical application using a wonderful image from a 1978 cover of Rolling Stone.
Patti Smith heart necklace by Ultravioletglam Designs. $23.00
I know it’s a close-up of the key chain image, but I love the impact of the heart surrounding the expression on her face.
BONUS #1:
Robert Mapplethorpe picture from VintageUpcycled. $15.00
It is well-known how close Patti was to Robert Mapplethorpe, so I had to include a piece in honor of him. This is a vintage ad.
BONUS #2:
Arthur Rimbaud stencil print by Chiaroscuro. $12.00
Arthur Rimbaud has been a deep influence on Patti’s life and work. The delicacy of this stencil is present in all Chiaroscuro‘s art.
The Dead Writers Round-Up: 1st-3rd August
- Herman Melville was born on 8/1/1819. “A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things.”
- James Baldwin was born on 8/2/1924. “Every legend, moreover, contains its residuum of truth, and the root function of language is to control the universe by describing it.”
- Wallace Stevens died on 8/2/1955. “As life grows more terrible, its literature grows more terrible.”
- Donald Ogden Stewart died on 8/2/1980. Stewart was a playwright-turned-screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for his adaptation of Philip Barry’s play, The Philadelphia Story.
- William S. Burroughs died on 8/2/1997. “Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact.”
- Ernie Pyle was born on 8/3/1900. “War makes strange giant creatures out of us little routine men who inhabit the earth.”
- Joseph Conrad died on 8/3/1924. “An artist is a man of action, whether he creates a personality, invents an expedient, or finds the issue of a complicated situation.”
- Colette died on 8/3/1954. “A happy childhood is poor preparation for human contacts.”
- Flannery O’Connor died on 8/3/1964. “I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I am afraid it will not be controversial.”
[All images are courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and are in the public domain.]
A Year in Books/Day 178: William Morris by himself
- Title: William Morris by himself Designs and writings
- Editor: Gillian Naylor
- Year Published: This Edition/2004 (Barnes & Noble Books)
- Year Purchased: 2004/2005
- Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
- About: This book is a great reminder that William Morris was also a writer, and not just an artist/designer. Although his aesthetic is instantly recognizable, his words are not. That’s a shame. William Morris by himself goes a long way to rectify that, but I hope that his diverse writings somehow find a wider audience. As the title well relates, you’ll find a blend of his art and words (including excerpts from letters, essays and poems) in this pretty little edition. They have also inserted brief biographical paragraphs for the sake of cohesion. If you have ever been drawn to one of his textiles or wallpapers, why not take the opportunity to learn more about the full oeuvre of the man?
- Motivation: I’ve long been intrigued by Morris.
- Times Read: 1
- Random Excerpt/Page 83: “We have taken a little place deep down in the country, where my wife and children are to spend some months every year, as they did this-a beautiful and strangely naif house, Elizabethan in appearance, though much later in date, as in that out of the way corner people built in Gothic till the beginning or middle of the last century. It is on the S.W. extremity of Oxfordshire, within a stone’s throw of the baby Thames, in the most beautiful grey little hamlet called Kelmscott.”
- Happiness Scale: 8 1/2
Voices from the Grave #28: E.E. Cummings Reading ‘somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond’
E.E. Cummings reading somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond.
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me
Daily Diversion #24: Birthday Wishes
“Give me silence, water, hope
Give me struggle, iron, volcanoes.”-Pablo Neruda
“I don’t want to go on being a root in the dark,
vacillating, stretched out, shivering with sleep,
downward, in the soaked guts of the earth,
absorbing and thinking, eating each day.”-Pablo Neruda
A Year in Books/Day 157: Selected Poems & Letters of Emily Dickinson
- Title: Selected Poems & Letters of Emily Dickinson
- Editor: Robert N. Linscott
- Year Published: First edition:1959/This edition: ???? (An Anchor Book)
- Year Purchased: 2001/2002
- Source: This was a hand-me-down from a long-time friend.
- About: If Emily Dickinson was alive and writing today, she would probably blog her poetry under a pseudonym. Since she was born in 1830, she composed reams of golden verse and hoarded them away in dark bureau corners. After she confined herself to home-a situation that was gradual, and not a fierce, sudden statement-she kept up with the outside world via the epistolary arts. Letters make the best (auto)biographies. They are a time capsule, a locus for self-mythology and the only genuine source of a person’s thoughts, feelings and actual opinions. For these reasons, I have long loved volumes with the chutzpah and heart (not to mention access to original material) to combine professional output with personal words. This book is a winner all around.
- Motivation: Emily Dickinson is one of my preferred poets. Neruda is always and ever in the top spot, but she holds a place of honour in the court.
- Times Read: Cover-to-cover:2/Random poems: countless
- Random Excerpt/Page 288: “You wonder why I write so. Because I cannot help. I like to have you know some care-so when your life gets faint for its other life, you can lean on us. We won’t break, Mary. We look very small, but the reed can carry weight.”
- Happiness Scale: 10+++
Ubiquitous Emily Dickinson photo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A Year in Books/Day 154: The Portable Dorothy Parker
- Title: The Portable Dorothy Parker
- Author: Dorothy Parker (with an introduction by Brendan Gill)
- Year Published: This Edition-1976 (Penguin Books)
- Year Purchased: 2005
- Source: The Book Loft, Columbus, Ohio
- About: I’d like to think that Dorothy Parker needs no introduction, so I am not writing one. She engenders fierce loyalty in readers or, for those of a different mind-set, strong distaste. If you are known to curl up your tongue at her superior wit, and excellent writing, well, at least we know up front that we are from two different planets. Continue reading
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“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”-Sylvia Plath
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 