"Love should be put into action!" screamed the old hermit.Across the pond an echo tried and tried to confirm it.—Elizabeth Bishop, "Chemin de Fer" I have a near relation in the hospital with COVID-19, someone dear but also estranged. However, this is not about him. It's about what this person's being in the hospital stirs … Continue reading The Wo-Man-Moth, for Eric
grief
The Wheelhouse Project: Language
Go here for an introduction to the Wheelhouse Project. Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline may at first glance seem like an odd pick for the "language" wheelhouse. This novel focuses on Joan, a First Nations Métis woman, whose husband Victor stormed out of the house after a fight a year ago and disappeared. Joan has been … Continue reading The Wheelhouse Project: Language
Notions, Late Summer Edition
I'm cooking up something different than normal that may go up as early as tomorrow. For now, I present this collection of beautiful, powerful, and/or thought-provoking items for your holiday weekend. If you read one thing on this list, read Jesmyn Ward's jaw-dropping, heart-breaking, awe-inspiring essay on the death of her Beloved and its resonances … Continue reading Notions, Late Summer Edition
Totems
Emerald green leaves with darker stripes like paint splotches, called calithea lancifolia, in a specked, sky-blue pot; a rippled peperomia, the other houseplant I've managed not to kill, purpley green leaves and magenta stems; a beeswax candle that smells of pine; a framed thistle I carried home with me, pressed into a book, from Scotland. … Continue reading Totems
Going off Book: Midsommar
There are a couple of different ways to do smart horror movies. The first explores a specific topic, what the film is “about,” and the plot serves as scaffolding to unpack that theme. Ari Aster’s first feature, Hereditary, falls into this camp. It’s a movie about grief and how our parents’ worst traits can be … Continue reading Going off Book: Midsommar
Going off Book: Fleabag
Season one of Fleabag knocked me over, picked me up, and then broke me into a thousand pieces. It seemed semi-criminal that something so awkward and cruel and heart-breaking should also be so funny. It deals with grief and regret and being the family scapegoat and making terrible decisions and punishing yourself because you've done … Continue reading Going off Book: Fleabag
Why and Why Now?
Listening to: Tea shop radio. Drinking: Gingery chai latte. I cannot really remember a time before I couldn't read, although I do remember sounding out my first word—"l-u-n-c-h"—on the first day of first grade. And so for as long as I can remember, I have been in love with books, with stories, with learning about … Continue reading Why and Why Now?
Dogs, Coffee, & Books 