Tag Archives: Writers

[News] Putting a Face to the Poet: Is This Emily Dickinson?

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According to experts, the answer is yes. It’s only the second known image of the poet, and the first showing her as an adult. ‘Tis a big deal, no?                                                                                                                                                                  Still No New Pynchon Photo, but Here’s Emily Dickinson-The New York Times

Emily Dickinson gets a new look in recovered photograph-The Guardian

 

 

 

A Year in Books/Day 207: Romancing the Ordinary

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  • Title: Romancing the Ordinary A Year of Simple Splendor
  • Author: Sarah Ban Breathnach
  • Year Published: 2002 (The Simple Abundance Press/Scribner)
  • Year Purchased: 2002
  • Source: It was a Christmas gift from my mom.
  • About: There is something a bit stale about most inspirational books that are directed at women, or maybe I don’t have the proper constitution for that type of thing. Either way, I was surprised to discover that Romancing the Ordinary, although a trifle flowery in spots, is actually inspiring. I know, I know. Hear me out. These are the reasons I love this book: 1) It’s easy to use. Twelve months=a dozen chapters. In other words, I can take an entire month to read a chapter. It’s such a slight commitment that it does not take serious time away from my other reading. 2) It’s guilt-free. Romancing the Ordinary isn’t a self-help program, but a reminder to slow down for three seconds and attend to your own needs. It’s a how-to guide in relaxation, if you will. 3) It doesn’t try to make you a better person. If it did, I would have pitched it years ago. 4) It is full of quotes, and we all know I love quotes. 5) Most of the books quoted from are fabulous. Anything that turns me on to books I’ve never read, especially intriguing ones, is a winner. 6) It has recipes. The Rice Pudding is delectable. 7) Even though I haven’t tried 85% of her ideas, I don’t feel inadequate. Who needs that from a book, anyway? I take what I want, dismiss the rest, and go on my merry way. 8) The underlying message. Perhaps it is an elaborate way of saying something very basic-“Hey there! Always remember that alone time is great. Don’t let yourself get lost in the demands of the every day.”-but it is a reminder we all need on occasion.
  • Motivation: My mom bought a copy for someone else. After they raved about it, she decided that I would find it enjoyable, too.
  • Times Read: 3 or 4
  • Random Excerpt/Page 208: “I am now an orderly woman. By this I mean, I am a woman who reveres order. But I am not the neatest person. I have always been a messy girl, and not so long ago, in an effort to embrace my imperfection, I came to the awareness that I will probably always be a messy girl.” (Ed. note: Ahem. My husband would say that this reminds him, quite powerfully, of me.)
  • Happiness Scale: 8 1/2

A Year in Books/Day 205: Four Little Blossoms at Oak Hill School

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  • Title: Four Little Blossoms at Oak Hill School
  • Author: “Mabel C. Hawley”
  • Year Published: 1920 (The Saalfield Publishing Company)
  • Year Purchased: Circa 1920
  • Source: My Grandma
  • About: When this book was published nearly a century ago, it wouldn’t have been considered naive or innocent, but a reflection of mainstream normalcy: what childhood was, or aspired to be. As such, the plot isn’t important. All you need to know is in the characters’ names: Bobby, Meg, Dot and….Twaddles. The Blossoms are siblings, and range in age from 7 to 4 (Dot and Twaddles, you see, are twins). Nothing much happens, just the usual sweet or sly childhood shenanigans one associates with a bygone era. The Four Little Blossoms’  benign adventures lasted for seven books. Published between 1920-1930, they were part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate assembly line. Other, more famous series from Stratemeyer include the Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys Mystery Stories, Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, and Dana Girls Mystery Stories.
  • Motivation: This unimportant little book has, by extreme happenstance, been in the family for over ninety years, having been owned or read by four generations. Who knew that it would hang around so long? I wonder if this is the orphan of a once complete set, or if this is the only Four Little Blossoms book my forebears bought?
  • Times Read: Dozens? As one of the first “real” chapter books I owned, at 3 or 4, I used it to move my skills beyond the Little Golden Books stage.
  • Random Excerpt/Pages 10 and 11: “The Blossoms lived in the pretty town of Oak Hill, and they knew nearly every one. Indeed the children had never been away from Oak Hill till the visit they had made to their Aunt Polly, about which you may have read in the book called “Four Little Blossoms at Brookside Farm.” They had spent the summer with Aunt Polly, and had made many new friends and learned a great deal about animals. Meg, especially, loved all dumb creatures. And now that you are acquainted with the four little Blossoms, we must get back to that chimney.”
  • Happiness Scale: 10, because it helped me become quite a fine reader

Daily Diversion #39: Beating Time Along the Edge of Thought*

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When I cannot write, I look up. Craned neck, closed eyes. I swivel my creaking chair, and open them.

Meditative whir and whirl

Meditative whir and whirl

Rendered in black-and-white, like rubbed-away ink on a faded page.

*“…beating time along the edge of thought.”-Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

A Reading List a Mile Long: Bas Bleu Autumn 2012 Edition

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The temperature remains high, at least where I live, but autumn is sneaking around the corner. Although I find scant joy in the companions of cold weather-believing that you should visit ice and snow if the fancy strikes, and not the other way around-there are some compensations that arrive with this particular changing of the seasons, among them: hot mulled cider, hot chocolate, gingerbread cake, holiday cookies, ice skating, scarves, boots, crackling fires, the ability to watch Miracle on 34th Street ten times without being judged (too harshly), silly parades, a changing landscape and, of course, the built-in excuse to hunker down and read as many books as possible. That last one is the best. The Autumn 2012 edition of Bas Bleu is crammed with enough delicious books and literary-related goodies to last the next two seasons. Check out my jumble bag of favourites below, complete with handy links. Continue reading →