Much Ado

susan, donna, mindy, honorée, james, amanda

2012-01-29T13:42:00.002-06:00

The Poet's Freedom A Notebook on Making by Susan Stewart (University of Chicago 2011)is beautifully written and assembled. In her chapter titled Rhyming, Stewart quotes Milton on the unnecessary use of rhyme in poetry: ". . . only in apt Numbers, fit quantity of Syllables, and the sense variously drawn out from one Verse into another, not in the jingling sound of like endings."(p. 150)

Dignity The Essential Role it Plays in Resolving Conflict by Donna Hicks (Yale 2011). Everyone in government or contemplating running for office should read this book. Great for parents, too.

This blog post by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers delves into the important idea that what we do with our hands and say with our mouths is very important in how we express ourselves with friends, opponents, our fellow human beings. If you disagree with the concept and practice of common courtesy, or believe it is okay to wag your finger in the face of anyone who annoys you, I truly feel sorry for you and the people who depend on you.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me and other concerns by Mindy Kaling (Crown 2011) was a gift from my niece. Funny, silly, a very good book to take to the hospital or read in recovery to get your mind off of the pain and into her hilarious take on Jewish Guys, the stupidity of One Night Stands or, of course, The Office.

Designing with Type, 5th Edition: The Essential Guide to Typography By: James Craig, et al (Watson-Guptill 2006, 5th edition). I include the link for my design students. A much earlier incarnation of this book was my typography textbook in Susan Metros' class at UTK in the 1980's. I ordered the latest version mostly out of curiosity, and I have just begun reading. Perhaps it will have great stuff/assignments/stories to share.

Pondicherry Square by Amanda Surkont (Little Pear Press 2009). This is a wonderful book. I will write more on this later, but in the meantime, read it!

catherine

2012-01-11T18:32:00.001-06:00

LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS | Antielitism Left and Right

arielle

2012-01-09T23:30:00.000-06:00

A brilliant and persuasive column by Arielle Greenberg Bywater about African American poetry and authors, history and language. That is a small description for a deep essay.

james and john (not mine)

2011-12-16T11:58:00.000-06:00

This is James Wood writing about John Jeremiah Sullivan and how the essay form can mimic fiction.

julianna

2011-05-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

Great advice on writing, and great links within.

nicole, halldór, wilkie

2011-02-08T07:42:00.000-06:00

Great House, Independent People, The Woman in White. Engrossing, Depressing/Funny, Entertaining.

jenny

2010-10-11T18:58:00.000-06:00

I am fascinated by her art.  Embroidered Effects by Jenny Hart (Chronicle Books).

reginald

2010-07-21T20:06:00.001-06:00

"Occurrences across the Chromatic Scale," a poem by Reginald Shepard from Otherhood: Poems (University of Pittsburgh Press 2003).

cynthia

2010-07-03T15:48:00.001-06:00

Some of my visual art: You Reckon and I Declare from a 2010 group exhibition at the Jon F. Lott Gallery, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts.

Inkjet on cotton paper on panel, 9" x 12" x 1.5".

* * *

What am I reading? Books on economics and history and gardens: The Forgotten Man by Amity Shales (Harper Collins, 2007). This is well-written and a needed perspective, but out of 390 pages child labor is only mentioned once (p. 285). The Uncertainty of Everyday Life 1915-1945 by Harvey Green (Harper Collins, 1992) fills in the narrative with stories about how, for example, 1n 1935 30% of urban working class people on the East Coast took the trolley to work. Then the auto companies and oil companies bought up the trolley companies and suddenly - very quickly - inexpensive, relatively clean electric transportation disappeared. Shenanigans and good works happen at all levels of the economic system, of course. But I think there were many forgotten men and women and children, and too often their stories are not told until it is politically expedient to do so.

Too many garden books to mention. Later.

amber

2010-06-01T19:01:00.000-06:00

I had the honor of judging a Poetry Out Loud competition this year. It's amazing to hear teenagers recite poems by heart.

lee

2010-06-01T17:20:00.000-06:00

An article about “Lee Bontecou: All Freedom in Every Sense,” an overview exhibition of four decades of the  artist’s work from 1958 to 1998 culled from the MOMA’s collections, curated by Veronica Roberts. 

gabriel

2010-04-10T15:41:00.000-06:00

Rereading this book in the slim bits of time between tasks and obligations. Link above.

cynthia, or my typography page on facebook

2010-03-07T18:41:00.000-06:00

Typography I & II is off and running. Become a fan if you are interested in how fonts, words, letters and marks are used in design and life. It started out as a page for my students but pro designers and curious others have joined, too.

eleanor

2010-01-14T21:58:00.000-06:00

Link above to the poem Starfish by Eleanor Lerman. I like it.

john

2009-11-30T15:36:00.000-06:00

Link above to John Scalzi's blog entry on "What you have to give up to write." Also see his funny "Whateverettes" and "Administrivia," which are often lessons in self possession/indulgence/incrimination.

Machines to Enlarge the Ears - Noise for Airports

2009-11-16T21:26:00.003-06:00

http://noiseforairports.com/post/243891819/machines-to-enlarge-the-ears

cynthia

2009-11-16T17:33:00.000-06:00

I started writing a new series of poems today. What does it feel like when writer's block ends? It feels like somebody has left a hot bowl of soup inside my doorstep on a freezing night. Soup & buttered bread. I feel grateful.

Design - Mistakes in Typography Grate the Purists - NYTimes.com

2009-11-16T17:19:00.001-06:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/arts/16iht-design16.html?_r=1

jerry

2009-11-08T19:43:00.001-06:00

FYI - Above is a link to my Congressman Jerry Costello's page, which has links to complete versions of the recent bills passed on Health Care and versions still in the Senate committees.

rachel, wendy, steven, nora, jonathan, susan

2009-11-05T17:00:00.003-06:00

I just checked out Rachel Carson's The Edge of the Sea (Houghton Mifflin 1998), the catalogue for the 2009 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian titled Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture by Wendy Wick Reaves, Woody Guthrie Art Works by Steven Brower & Nora Guthrie, Billy Bragg & Jeff Tweedy (Rizzoli 2005), and the book published on the occasion of the exhibition Goya's Last Works by Jonathan Brown and Susan Grace Galassi (the Frick Collection and Yale, 2006). Mostly I'm just glancing over at the books while moving between tasks like grading student projects, revising a long contract and rearranging my office to serve as both a meeting place and studio. So glad the sun is shining today!

IKEA says goodbye to Futura: idsgn (a design blog)

2009-09-06T10:10:00.002-06:00

IKEA says goodbye to Futura: idsgn (a design blog)

Shared via AddThis

futura on youtube

2009-09-05T18:09:00.002-06:00

I just read that the Ikea catalog has the 3rd largest print run on earth, next to the Bible and Harry Potter.

I have used Futura in my paintings and installations since 1985. I used to be obsessed with the shape of the uppercase O, having projected it onto large canvases and painted it freehand with a brush many times in the days before large-format printing became affordable. I was also into the historic uses of it, and how very black, crisp, pompous and geometric it looked (looks). Now I admire it but totally dig so many other fonts.

fluxspace

2009-08-28T10:23:00.001-06:00

Funny can be good.

da font feed

2009-08-25T19:26:00.005-06:00

Tuesdays & Thursdays I teach TYPOGRAPHY for 9 hours! I do get a break after my second class plus we have amazing facilities here, so I feel very lucky.

I learn a lot about type scrolling through the comments on The FontFeed site (link above). Enjoy.

gustav

2009-08-22T21:20:00.001-06:00

Oh how I would love to see this show. In person. Up close.

fred

2009-08-22T21:13:00.001-06:00

2 memorable poems by Fred Von Drasek in the journal La Fovea.

lesley

2009-08-20T08:51:00.001-06:00

betsy

2009-08-20T08:50:00.002-06:00

Betsy Lerner is a writer, poet, agent, and so much more. I love reading her blog!

dusie

2009-08-19T16:04:00.003-06:00

I have a poem in this Swiss journal/e-book, edited by Susana Gardner.

julianna & bridget

2009-08-13T11:45:00.002-06:00

Helpful advice about writing poems and stories and finding your muse again after becoming a parent.

mary ann & annie, lisa, gregory, helen, dorianne, william, harold, cokie, jennifer

2009-08-06T21:00:00.006-06:00

A Gringo Like Me by Jennifer L. Knox
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts
Faith of Our Mothers: The Stories of Presidential Mothers by Harold Gullan
Present Company by W. S. Merwin
Facts About the Moon by Dorianne Laux
Blue Weather by Helen Kidd
Concerning the Book that is the Body of the Beloved by Gregory Orr
Ring of Fire: poems by Lisa Jarnot

also The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The title link above is to an excerpt of this book on the NPR site.

Gosh, my next list is all art, graphic design and gardening!

deborah, david, robert, jesse, mathew

2009-04-24T08:38:00.002-06:00

On the nightstand: Rough Music by Deborah Digges, The Best American Essays 2007 edited by David Foster Wallace, Lives of the Animals by Robert Wrigley, Cinema Muto by Jesse Lee Kercheval, From Fire to Form, Sculpture from the Modern Blacksmith and Metalsmith by Mathew. S. Clarke.

I dedicate Kercheval's poem "Kohitsuji: The Lamb" to the memory of Deborah Digges.

karen on elaine

2009-04-15T16:52:00.003-06:00

A review of the new, 600-page survey by Elaine Showalter titled A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers From Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx (Knopf). Review by Karen J. Winkler.

Remember the USO?

2009-04-13T21:23:00.003-06:00

Link above to read the 2009 USO schedule and how to send care packages to soldiers. Click on the FAQ's to read about all of the different services they provide, from reading programs to care packages to Operation Phone Home. It's easy to do.

deborah on the hollywood fempire

2009-03-24T05:56:00.001-06:00

Sisterhood is golden.

lizzy

2009-02-25T15:27:00.003-06:00

Check out the second edition of Check-In, Elizabeth Skurnick's book of poems.

janet

2009-02-20T16:08:00.004-06:00

Link above to the Keeping It Real Collection of greeting cards by a friend of mine from grade school, Janet Darden. I am usually "Ms. Secular" but this is one of the most creative projects I've seen in a long time that combines the spiritual and the terrestrial. The contact email I sent bounced back, but try the phone numbers. Here's a blurb from her site:

The Keepin' It Real Collection, by Janet Darden, is a series of inspirational greetings cards designed to challenge women of all ages and walks of life to free themselves from the struggles of the flesh and become closer to God. The cover of each card is embossed with the beautiful portrait of three lovely women named the Daughters of Zion. Each card then contains relevant and folksy words of wisdom written in a nontraditional manner that uses today's vernacular.

peter

2009-02-02T21:36:00.003-06:00

An article by Peter Osnos from today's The Daily Beast titled The Making of the Book That Made Obama.

a composer's life

2009-02-02T21:21:00.001-06:00

arielle and rachel

2009-02-02T20:50:00.003-06:00

A wonderful blog called Starting Today, Poems for the First 100 Days edited by poets Arielle Greenberg and Rachel Zucker. A different, compelling poem each day responding to the new presidency. A fine idea.

katie

2009-02-02T20:39:00.005-06:00

An article by Katie Allison Granju about her son and his pocket knives from babble.com, a parenting webzine/community.

Also read Hanna Schank's take on flying with a baby:

http://babble.com/babies-on-a-plane-hana-schank-ho-airlines-can-make-traveling-with-kids-less-of-a-nightmare/index.aspx

deb

2009-01-20T14:44:00.004-06:00

Please click on her name above to visit Fun with Pictures, the site of designer Deb Hardison and paths to abundant coolness and delight. Enjoy.

paul

2008-11-16T20:12:00.004-06:00

My Index of Slightly Horrifying Knowledge came in the mail Thursday. It is the 3rd book of poems by Paul Guest (Ecco, 2008) and I think his best book yet. That word "slightly" in the title makes me laugh, but the poems are thinkers. Just link to his blog over on the right.

suzanne

2008-09-24T07:04:00.003-06:00

Link above to a great article by Suzanne Vega about Tom's Diner, sampling, the MP3, and living life to the fullest.

lara

2008-09-18T08:56:00.015-06:00

I just finished Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love by Lara Vapnyar (Pantheon 2008) and really enjoyed it. Yes, I am a recreational reader again!

ken, bob and lucia

2008-08-05T16:11:00.002-06:00

I've been reading This Clumsy Living by Bob Hicok, Luck is Luck by Lucia Perillo, and What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain. More details later. I'm preparing to teach a few courses and that's taking all of my so-called spare time . . .

willa, willa, willa

2008-07-14T13:20:00.002-06:00

I've been on a Willa Cather kick this summer. The Professor's House (Vintage, 1990 [1925]) stole many hours of sleep last week. The lines she gives her characters, like

"It makes us happy to surround our creature needs and bodily instincts with as much pomp and circumstance as possible." (p. 55)

make me smile. Otherwise, I've been blurbnapped by Facebook and it's fun over there but I am finally a bit tired of it . . . Did I just coin a new word?

ted

2008-07-04T08:45:00.002-06:00

Happy July 4th, especially to our soldiers overseas and their parents.

eva

2008-07-01T10:11:00.003-06:00

I just found this interview with Eva Zeisel. It has great photos of her apartment and if you also have a house cluttered with books and art, you will feel happy to see her cozy jumble.

danica

2008-06-27T08:43:00.002-06:00

She races cars. She practices good sportsmanship. She brings new customers/viewers/enthusiasts/money to the industry. She drives really fast. What's the real problem here?

marci, maggie & william

2008-06-22T11:16:00.003-06:00

From the blog of Marci Alboher @ nytimes.com/shiftingcareers (or link above):

“Wisdom is the art of knowing what to overlook,” wrote William James, the father of American psychology research. Long ago, he identified the foremost challenge of our time: how to allocate our attention. And now, we’re beginning to discover what he foretold: that living distracted just isn’t smart.

herbert, ira, dan, herodotus

2008-06-16T06:16:00.003-06:00

Read lately: There's an Old Southern Saying . . . The Wit and Wisdom of Dan May (1993 Crabby Keys Press) compiled by Dan's grandson William May Stern. This book is a gem. It defines an individual whose civic life transcended party politics and helped me understand my own views. The Histories by Herodotus, translated by Aubrey de Selincourt (Penguin 1954). Written mostly contemporaneously about/with the Greco-Persian conflicts of the 4th century B.C., this is an easy, often side-splitting book! Then there is Birds, a Guide to the Most Familiar American Birds by Herbert Kim and Ira Gabrielson (1956 Golden Press). I'm also reading/rereading many books on typography.

ethlie & greg

2008-06-04T08:52:00.004-06:00

Did you know that the first U.S. patent was awarded to a woman? This is a very cool book! In 1793 Hannah Slater perfected cotton sewing thread. Read this book. It's fun and surprising. Patently Female by Ethlie Ann Vare & Greg Ptacek (John Wiley & Sons, NY 2002).

alison

2008-05-27T18:54:00.003-06:00

Here's a review from The Guardian of Mrs Woolf & the Servants: The Hidden Heart of Domestic Service by Alison Light (Fig Tree, 2007). I want to read this book.

alice, alice, lynda, agnes, jackie, suzanne, nancy, mary, michelle, jackie

2008-05-02T09:59:00.003-06:00

Click above to read about a summer show at Sculpture Center titled "Decoys, Complexes, and Triggers: Feminism and Land Art in the 1970s," May 4–July 28, 2008. These artists were and are some of the most adventuresome in their field.

roseanne

2008-04-30T08:48:00.002-06:00

This NY Times series about songwriting is wonderful. Link above.

pablo

2008-04-17T13:32:00.006-06:00

In Praise of Ironing
by Pablo Neruda

translated by Alastair Reid

Poetry is pure white.
It emerges from water covered with drops,
is wrinkled, all in a heap.
It has to be spread out, the skin of this planet,
has to be ironed out, the sea's whiteness;
and the hands keep moving, moving,
the holy surfaces are smoothed out,
and that is how things are accomplished.
Every day, hands are creating the world,
fire is married to steel,
and canvas, linen, and cotton come back
from the skirmishings of the laundries,
and out of light a dove is born -
pure innocence returns out of the swirl.

marci and ben

2008-04-14T07:23:00.005-06:00

Reading Marci Alboher is fun for those of us who hold multiple vocations/occupations.

I don't always agree with Ben Stein, but I am a small business owner and this article hit me where I live. When you own a small business, you do have a boss: The Customer. Mr. Stein could not for the life of him get a lazy salesperson at Barnes & Noble to simply ship a book for him. Here is a long, poignant quote from a recent Ben Stein article "How Not to Ruin Your Life":

The next day in Chicago, I spoke to a gathering of physicians at a convention. After the speech, they told me that their No. 1 problem (after Medicare reimbursements) was finding workers who were actually willing to learn and work. "It's not a case of workers begging for jobs," said the man next to me at a post-speech lunch. "We're begging for qualified workers."

There's a point to be gleaned from this, and my friend Mike made it well after our debacle at Barnes & Noble: "I wish every worker in America had to be a freelancer at selling or writing or painting or carpentry or computer repair or law or something for two years. I wish Americans could have a period in their lives when they only got paid for what they sold and produced. It would do this country world of good."

suzanne, ren, moira, rachel, cynthia, and many more

2008-04-09T09:31:00.006-06:00

Link above to read about/purchase a compelling, lovely, new anthology of poems from Red Hen Press by members of the Women's Poetry Listserv. And yes, I have a poem in it.

pattiann

2008-03-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

Click above to read Genesis: Primeval Rivers and Forests by poet Pattiann Rogers on Poetry Daily.

jean, guy, kate, claire, mark, don

2008-03-25T11:00:00.005-06:00

Please Don't Eat the Daisies (Doubleday 1957) by Jean Kerr. Read only if you love laughing.
The Necklace and Other Short Stories (Dover 1992) by Guy de Maupassant. Read if you (as I do) love comedy with a dark underlayment.
The Secret River (Cannongate 2005) by Kate Grenville. Saucy, female Dickens.
When the World was Steady (Granta 1994) by Claire Messud. Don't you love reading about sisters?
Fire to Fire (HarperCollins 2008) by Mark Doty (his selected and collected). Give this book to all of your friends.
White Noise (Penguin 1985) by Don DeLillo. How I miss this funky book in the 80's?

thomas on ilya

2008-03-19T20:19:00.003-06:00

Link above to a fine article by Thomas Lux on poet Ilya Kaminsky (March 12 San Diego Reader). And thanks to Jeff at Tupelo for letting us know.

inside the writing hut

2008-03-14T15:48:00.005-06:00

Here is a photo from inside my writing hut. There's a mouse pad but the laptop is in the repair shop. The "e" was not working- forcing me to cut and paste every dagburned "e" so I took it in for a tune up. I like using the typewriter, though. I was a copygirl at The Tennessean newspaper in high school, and the week I started was the week the newsroom transitioned from typewriters to computers. I have quite a collection of typewriters because people in my town know I am a writer and they drop off extra/unwanted machines on my porch.

my writing hut, my wiener dog

2008-03-14T15:34:00.004-06:00

Note the box pleated burlap. I had extra material and made a bustle in the back! I suppose this makes my house a she. My dog Louie (often called "the cuteness") is a he. Those are my gardening gloves on the sofa. It's almost time to plant lettuce.

peter and robert

2008-03-07T19:44:00.004-06:00

E. Christopher Clark from the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics sent this today:

"This afternoon, National Public Radio’s program “All Things Considered” aired a version of the interview Peter Campion gave on the occasion of Frost’s ’47 lecture’s appearance in the current issue of Literary Imagination. You can listen to streaming audio of the segment by visiting “All Things Considered” online at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87991813

In order to listen to the recording, you must use the Real Audio Player, available for free at http://www.real.com. "

Enjoy.

sally

2008-03-07T07:46:00.003-06:00

Here is a letter from poet Sally Van Doren to members of the St. Louis Poetry Center:

Dear Friends and Family,

I am happy to announce that my book of poems, "Sex at Noon Taxes," which won the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets, has just been published by Louisiana State University Press. It will soon be available in St. Louis at Left Bank Books, Barnes and Noble, and Borders and online at Amazon and other major chains.

In case you are interested, my St. Louis reading schedule is as follows:

Tonight, Thursday, March 6: 7:00-8:00 pm: KDHX Radio, 88.1 FM. Guest on "Literature for the Halibut."

Monday, March 17: 7:30 pm: Duff's Restaurant, for "River Styx at Duff's Reading Series."

Tuesday, April 1, 1:00 pm: "2008 Meramec Writing Festival," Meramec Community College.

Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 pm: University of Missouri-St. Louis, Gallery 210, St. Louis, MO.

Thursday, September 11, 7:00 pm: St. Louis Public Library, Schlafly Branch.

Thanks so much for your support and interest in my writing!

yours,
Sally

farideh

2008-02-16T12:23:00.014-06:00

Farideh Hassanzadeh (Mostafavi) is an Iranian poet, translator and freelance journalist whose poems appear in the anthologies Contemporary Women Poets of Iran and Anthology of Best Women Poets.

Here is an interview with Farideh I've cut and pasted from my poetry listserv (WOMPO), originally published in an Iranian women's magazine:

The success of Farideh's latest book: "Poetry of Women World Wild" among the public led
to the publication of a second edition, after only several months, giving our magazine [cause]
to conduct an interview with her. Interestingly, booksellers have said that it is mostly bought
by men!

Q: Why did you choose Women's poetry for translation?

F: Well,I specialize in the translation of poetry. I work on anything that catches
my interest in the field of poetry. Lately for example I've been translating
Lorca's biography. To answer your question more specifically however- about 7-8
years ago I received a Penguin anthology with a selection of Women's poetry.
I found it extremely interesting. I was especially surprised to find out that
a poem by Iranian poet: Forough Farrokhzad (Another Birthday) had been included
in this book.I was deeply inspired by these poems. It made me realize that there
existed great number of talented women poets and they continue to exist in this
world, whom we unfortunately rarely hear about. I was able to relate to
so many of the themes in these poems, because these female poets shared so much
with the reader. They were able to reveal and share their deepest emotions with
incredible sincerity. What I also appreciated about the book was the introduction
that was included for each female poet. I understood that their lives had in
fact been poems.. It was clear to me that the three editors, who also happened
to be women, had included these introductions in order to make the reader realize
what it meant to be a woman as well as a poet. This anthology revealed a whole
range of poems concerning a woman's way of expressing herself. I was amazed at
how courageous these women had been for wording their emotions and sharing it
with others. This need for expressing themselves had been a kind of exorcism-
enabling them to somewhat release the pain and the frustrations of their lives.
While Reading these poems I found out that I was dealing with very
important and deep poets. But I also realized that some of the poems were weak.
I needed to read more poems by each of these poets in order to understand
their work as well as to be able to appreciate their talent. So I ended up finding
the complete works of each of these female poets. I was not disappointed.
I noticed that the editors had unintentionally left out some of the strongest
and deepest poems from their book. I wanted to translate the poems that brought the
reader in touch with the poetess- those that would make the reader feel
something. My work on this book ended up being more than that of a translator's.
In fact, the time and energy I invested in selecting the poems,made the end
product more than just a poetry book for me.

Q: After all the researches that you have done on women poets, What did
you learn from it and Which Characteristics did you find?

F: This is a difficult question. The truth is, I love poetry. But after
working specifically on women's poetry, I came to realize that poetry
is actually more serious and deeper than I had previously thought.
Maybe the reader will also realize that poetry is an extremely serious
art form in the Women's world.

Many people talk about the differences in the way men and women express
themselves. In my opinion, however, there is no female or male poem. I
just feel that poetry likes women more than men. This is not because
women tend to be more sentimental but because they view love and life in such
a serious way. I feel that poetry works better for them, since it is a literary
form that enables them to express themselves in a very sincere way. I will
not over-generalize, however, since men poets can also show signs of this
female sensitivity. For example Nazar Gabbani is a male poet who has this
feminine and sensitive side, and this is why the purity of his works are so high.
Any way ,this is my feeling : poetry is closer to the women . I don't think
I would have come to this kind of conclusion if I had done research on men's poetry.
Poetry likes women more.

Q: You have dedicated this book to your little son. Is there a special
reason for this?

F: As a woman, I wanted to show that poetry likes women more, because
they devote everything to love - even poetry.

wallace

2008-02-14T13:37:00.006-06:00

Standing still in my bright, ice-covered yard I think of this 1954 Wallace Stevens poem:

Of Mere Being

The palm at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze decor.

A gold-feathered bird
Sings in the palm, without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.

You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine.

The palm stands on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down.

william on eBay

2008-02-07T09:38:00.002-06:00

Yes, dear reader, you may purchase this for me for Valentines Day. Thanks in advance.

mad magazine presidential cartoons

2008-02-06T19:29:00.000-06:00

These are too funny.

shy, not shy

2008-02-02T14:00:00.000-06:00

I have to laugh at myself.

I considered deleting the blog after reading an article about how we should spent more time with loved ones and less time on the computer. Then I realized I only spend 5 minutes a week on this blog! We are a family that actually has dinner together every night and has a great time, so , not to worry. But then I decided to open this blog just to the few friends/loved ones who occasionally read it. I asked myself why is this goofy notepad open to the world when it is just my quick, random thoughts and lovingly collected links?

A few days after I did this I logged on from the computer of a friend and blogger said, "Only invited guests can cross the threshold of Much Ado!!" I exaggerate, but that left me feeling isolated and worse: pretentious. I got over myself and reopened the door to all who care to receive a mere 5 minutes a week of whatever.

happy happy, ed

2008-01-24T13:22:00.001-06:00

Last night I wrote 3 letters from my writing hut. One to the neighbor who left the excellent electric typewriter on my porch last year and 2 to friends who've been wondering when the heck I would have a space of my own in this lifetime. I'm using a typewriter in there until I decide which species of computer to think about buying. I also do not have the place wired properly yet, so I don't want to overload the extra thick outdoor extension cord. Anyway, I turned on the heater before supper and was welcomed by a warm room, table and small chair surrounded by books. I'm arranging the books in author order by genre, and that takes time.

I started reading Ed Hirsch's Wild Gratitude and got so inspired I had to stop to begin a poem.

julia

2008-01-12T20:19:00.001-06:00

Shout out to Julia Kasdorf. I have just reread Eve's Striptease (University of Pittsburgh Press 1998). This is the first book of poems I have read from cover to cover in my new writing hut. I don't even have a desk in there yet. No chair, even, while I'm installing enough shelves around the perimeter for all of my books. So I sat on the floor and enjoyed her book, which I've had since grad school.

I remember when she signed it for me so cheerfully at a reading. I love her diction: Fat nouns showing one scene after another without any fuss. I would like to write one poem this year that is as complete as her poem "Living Large."

pure entertainment

2008-01-12T20:07:00.000-06:00

Enchanted and Stardust. Both movies are written well and lots of fun to watch.

khaled, elizabeth, antonia, maryln, phila, tariq

2008-01-10T09:38:00.000-06:00

Good stuff I have read lately:

A Thousand Splendid Suns (Riverhead Books 2007) by Khaled Hosseini
A Woman of Independent Means (Avon 1978) by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Little Black Book of Stories (Knopf 2004) by A. S. Byatt
New Times in the Old South or Why Scarlett's in Therapy and Tara's Going Condo (Harmony 1993) by Maryln Schwartz
Kitchen Kollege Recipes (Parthenon Press 1954) by Phila Rawlings

Daughter of the West by Tariq Ali - page 3 of the December 13 2007 issue of the London Review of Books. This article is about Benazir Bhutto's family, written before she was killed, though I only got around to reading it afterwards (the stack of journals is ridiculous).

once

2008-01-10T09:30:00.000-06:00

If you missed the film Once on the big screen go get it this weekend. Prepare yourself for a surprising, sleepless, deliberative, loving, fragrant, nervy, sexy parting scene that does not disappoint the senses.

a moment of silence

2008-01-10T08:27:00.000-06:00

The rumor is true. My Mactell hard drive is no more.

sandra

2007-12-12T21:03:00.000-06:00

Click on sandra for Sandra Beasley's "The World War Speaks" in Slate. This poem cuts to the bone.

dante and james

2007-11-12T08:48:00.000-06:00

Link above to James Longenbach's review of Robert and Jean Hollander's fat new translation of Dante's Paradiso, which completes their translation of the entire Commedia.

Then go check out Mr. Longenbach's essays in The Resistance to Poetry. These I have read and enjoyed.

FYI to FOTR--My new writing house window was installed this weekend by the amazing husband as was the ancient A/C and a small heater. Now I just have to find an electrician who will make time for a smallish job.

lee

2007-11-10T22:17:00.001-06:00

Link above to Lee Upton's new book of poems titled Undid in the Land of Undone (New Issues, 2007), which is a good one.

george's writing house

2007-11-09T09:14:00.001-06:00

In reference to my writing house, I have mentioned to a few friends that I have been intrigued by the writing house of William Carlos Williams. I woke up this morning and realized it is not Williams I meant, but George Bernard Shaw! (link to his writing hut above) Forgive the confusion. Maybe it is the paint fumes . . . It is George Bernard Shaw's rotating writing house that I find so cool. Mine does not rotate, but it has a large window on each of 3 sides and soon it will have electricity, so I should get plenty of light. Hopefully we'll get the replacement window installed this weekend so I can finish painting and install a small heater. The books have taken over the house. They and I need a dedicated space.

A favorite quote:

"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."

George Bernard Shaw

This is also a favorite quote of my lovely friend Annette.

frances

2007-11-01T09:18:00.000-06:00

Click above to read about Frances Moore Lappe's new book titled Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad. I loved her Diet for a Small Planet so I'm placing this new one my list of books to read . . .

blogging

2007-10-29T10:29:00.000-06:00

Why is it that so dang many readers of this blog are too shy to ask questions or discuss books on the blog? I am back-channeled weekly with questions and requests like this:

Who is Natalia Ginzburg?
Please talk more about Alain de Botton!
Why don't you write about more Polish poets?
Have you read The Red Tent? I think you'd love it.
I love Lucia Perillo's poems and worship her candor.
It sounds like you have kids. Please talk about children's books for we who are steeped in motherhood.
Have you read the essays of Ed Hirsch?

I do answer the email and thanks for writing, but I would really love it if we could have it out on the blog so other people of like mind (or opposing mind) can have a chance to participate in the discussion, too.

I am going to write more on Natalia Ginzburg. I feel I should explain my earlier comment about autumn now that October has come around again, but I need to head to the office now . . .

returning to ilana

2007-10-27T19:48:00.000-06:00

A Life of One's Own A Guide to Better Living Through the Work and Wisdom of Virginia Woolf (full title) is sweet. Simons' words on misreading, desiring to be understood, and the "tough but important game of speech" give me a pang of hope for my friendships and my close relationship with books.

gerd and harryette. liz too.

2007-10-25T08:18:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to mention Gut Feelings, The Intelligence of the Unconscious by Gerd Gigerenzer (Viking, 2007) for weeks. It's a book from the library I keep renewing because other people in my house keep borrowing it. Ya gotta read this book from beginning to end, but if time is an issue, please at least start on page 224 to read the real story of how the Berlin Wall fell. I'm serious. It will blow you away.

Also- from No Boundaries (mentioned below) please find the prose poems of Harryette Mullen. And Liz Waldners poem "Gustatory/Hortatory" should not be missed.

ilana, and biking in paris

2007-10-14T09:49:00.000-06:00

I am now reading A Life of One's Own by Ilana Simons (Penquin Books, 2007). It's a comforting-to-hold, insightful book blending theories of living from the books, diaries and letters of Virginia Woolf with those of the author and several social scientists. After reading the chapter titled Change Routines I decided to add the link (click on Ilana above) to this biking in Paris article. This would be my fantasy of an extended changed routine! In the meantime, I am happy taking a break to cycle about in my neighborhood.

BTW: I finished the Miranda July stories and found them to be appealingly breezy no matter how unsettling the actions of her characters. I am studying her sentences to see how she does this.

The casserole book is back on the shelf. In the realm of my kitchen, assemblage is not as easy as sauté, stir-fry or broiling. I did make the apple crisp (adding fresh cranberries) which turned out fine.

james and miranda

2007-09-29T18:46:00.000-06:00

I read a few pages of Crazy for Casseroles by James Villas (Harvard Common Press, 2003) today. There are many recipes that include heaps of sour cream but I think I can adjust them by using 0% fat Greek yogurt instead. I will report back with any tips. I'm thinking casseroles would be good to add to my list of foods that can cook in my oven (which turns itself off with a timer) while I'm driving to swim practice or other errands. Usually I just pop a chicken in the oven with some carrots and potatoes and go, or I make something that takes 15 minutes (pasta, burritos, or broiled something) right after we get home. I'm thinking I could assemble some of these casseroles and freeze them on weekends, if it is possible to squeeze in another chore on weekends . . .

I also just started reading No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July (Scribner, 2007). The first story is kinda freaky and lovely. I hope to read more tonight.

a simple list

2007-09-21T13:53:00.000-06:00

Books I have read since April:

The History of Love
by Nicole Krauss
the most complete, beautifully written novel I have read lately - go read this book

Away
by Amy Bloom
brings to vivid life a lovely, ballsy pogrom survivor who journeys to and across America during the late-Vaudeville to early-Hollywood era

No Boundaries
Prose Poems by 24 American Poets
Edited by Ray Gonzales
still digesting this one

Him With His Foot in His Mouth & Other Stories
by Saul Bellow
now known to my writing consciousness as Mr. jolly segue way

Barbarian in the Garden
by Zbigniew Herbert (Polish poet)
this book ties together so many bits of art and political history previously floating adrift in my brain and made me feel a barbarian in my own country-in a good way!

Speaking of Faith
by Krista Tippett
rational, sane, uplifting

I've Hear the Vultures Singing
by Lucia Perillo
dry, honest, excellent collection (by my former poetry professor)

Romantic Affinities
Portraits from an Age
by Rupert Christiansen
fun but often sad reading

finally - a movie starring pie

2007-04-27T21:05:00.000-06:00

Click here: Waitress (Real, High) - Trailer - Movies - New York Times

charles

2007-04-18T12:05:00.000-06:00

Now I'm reading It's Alright Now by Charles Chadwick (HarperCollins, 2005). I've been reading it off and on for 2 months, actually. There are no recipes here but many references to the poetry of Larkin, scripture, corporate office life, family life from near and all-too-far, WWII, and documentary telly.

joy

2007-04-08T10:23:00.000-06:00

Hok a Tchynik: Blab Enough, or, from my grandmother Chana: You're banging a kettle!
Farmagan: Treasure
Kishen Tuchis: Kiss My Ass

(pronounce "ch" from the throat, like you're gargling)

These and many other Yiddish words and phrases pepper Joy Horowitz's funny and touching book Tessie and Pearlie, A Granddaughter's Story (Scribner, 1996). My friend Joanie found this farmagan on the free table at the local library sale, and knew it was for me. One of my grandmothers was Jewish and from Russia, and the other Protestant and from Tennessee via Alabama and long before that probably Scotland. The struggle Horowitz experiences in order to better know her grandmothers mirrors my own, and probably yours, too. What amazes me most about this book is that she is never syrupy, and so truthful about the uncomfortable, even repulsive moments amidst the heroic and lovable character traits and events in the lives of her grandmothers. And there are photos and recipes! I had the Meshuggeneh (crazy) Matzo Brei (matzo with eggs) each morning during Passover with honey-the way I grew up eating it. Grandmother Tessi eats hers with jam and I'm sure that's delicious too. Other recipes include French Toast, Marble Cake, Veggie Soup, and Matzo Ball Soup. Happy Easter everyone.

eudora

2007-03-09T11:03:00.000-06:00

Well the bread baking is on hold due to my unpredictable work schedule, yet somehow I have found time to do other baking and to read Losing Battles, a novel by Eudora Welty. The story revolves around the annual reunion of the extended family of a young man named Jack, who manages to leave prison in time to attend and finally clap eyes on the daughter he's never seen. His wife was his former (very young) teacher, and her status as an orphan figures into the story as a mystery threaded through the memories and stories of several reunion attendees. Even the judge who sent Jack to prison ends up coming. Conversation centers on a woman who taught several generations of area children, raised Jack's wife, and dies after sending the judge (another one of her former students) letters stuffed into old light bill envelopes. The reunion is a potluck, and everyone is proud of their contributions which include chicken pie, watermelons, and pickled peaches. Fried chicken is the centerpiece and a huge vat of homemade lemonade is placed near a precious ice block next to the head of one table. These people are dirt poor, and they've struggled more lately due to a drought and without their hardworking Jack to get crops to grow in the dry earth. It seems a miracle that there is food at all. The grandmother is my favorite character. It is also her birthday, and she points her finger and tells everyone "the way it is" at each turning point in the story. A funny conflict that recurs is the rivalry between the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churchgoers. And how two rival counties refuse to repair a hazardous bridge that joins them.

louisa and alain

2007-02-09T12:36:00.000-06:00

Now I am reading Louisa May Alcott's Collected Thrillers (originally published under pen names) and Alain de Botton's The Architecture of Happiness. The Alcott is great for taking my growing daily task list out of my head at bedtime and de Botton is a wonderful, mental transport through language to the surface and structure of memorable places while I'm waiting for my son to come out of swim practice in the evening.

What do you read at bedtime or while waiting in the car?

a new year

2007-01-09T14:25:00.000-06:00

Perhaps this blog is just a list of what I am reading and perhaps you will write about what you are reading, too. Boring? Like making public my small leisure time activities? We'll see . . .

I have decided that the kind of bread I enjoy is too pricey, so I'm baking bread twice a week for my family and my reading is tending toward "foodie" books. I feel like I have company in the kitchen, if only in my mind. Julie and Julia, My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell is a funny, quick read full of swearing, praise, and a rare honest take on New York living. It just won the Blooker literary prize. The other foodie book is Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik, one of the most poignant essayists living today. It was interesting reading Moon before reading Julia because Moon takes place before September 11, mostly in Paris but also referencing New York and other cities where Gopnik has lived. Whereas Julia takes place afterwards, in New York, while Powell is working in an office next to Ground Zero (when she isn't at the butcher or fighting mayonaise in her hot kitchen), and also overseas through excerpted letters and papers by/about Julia Child.

first post . . .

2006-04-26T02:33:00.000-06:00

I just reread the essays in A Place to Live by Natalia Ginzburg. So much to comprehend and enjoy-- but I'm especially glad to be reminded of why I love autumn. More later.