“In Capri, housetops are the world” – John Singer Sargent. Sargent visited the island of Capri in the summer of 1878 staying in the village of Anacapri which was popular with artists at the time. He met and became friends with the English painter Frank Hyde who persuaded him to lodge at the Pagano Hotel. … Read more
Crunchy is no longer enough. Dinner must now detonate. I get the New York Times Cooking newsletter in my inbox. I usually take a look – sometimes skimming, sometimes reading. It’s fun, often entertaining, and a good source of ideas for what to cook next or put on the shopping list. Now and then, Chaucer … Read more
Before the fragmented world of Instagram poets and TikTok book clubs, there was New World Writing: fifty cents, one paperback, and a whole literary world right on the magazine shelf at the drugstore and at the corner newsstand. Paperbacks, a Party, and Poets: The Story of New World Writing One evening in December 1951, a … Read more
One of the pleasures of events like the #1952Club is the chance to stumble across something unexpected and delightful – and A Perch in Paradise by Margaret Bullard is exactly that. Why this deliciously wicked novel has not been reissued by one of those publishing houses that specialize in forgotten gems by women is a … Read more
This week marks the start of the #1952Club, a reading event co-hosted by Simon Thomas (Stuck in a Book) and Karen Langley (Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings). The idea is simple: Pick any book published in 1952, read it, and share your thoughts – on your blog, on social media, or just in the comments. No pressure, … Read more
As might be guessed from Seamus Feamus, I’ve been reading – and thoroughly enjoying – The Pilgrimage of Peregrine Prykke. (How did I get to this age without having read it before?) This is Clive James’s parody of 1970s literary London and it got me thinking about the enduring and peculiar proclivity of poetical types … Read more
In what would have been the week of Seamus Heaney ‘s 86th birthday – here is Clive James ventriloquist. Performed at the ICA in London in 1974: These were the Belfast poets — all called Seamus — Of whom the leading light was SEAMUS FEAMUS, Who even now attacked his midday meal: Two slabs of peat around a conger … Read more
The great chain of books – #6Degrees – how one book leads to another. There’s an explanation of how all this works here. Everyone is welcome to join in. This is my contribution for April 2025: Our collective starting point is Salman Rushdie’s Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder (2024). It’s a memoir that begins with a … Read more
Pedantry, Politics, and the Park Ranger Activists persist in plastering all available neighborhood surfaces with their messages. Here’s a small selection: The Red-tailed Hawks and Raccoons of New York Big excitement with the report that red tailed hawks are nesting on Riverside Drive and a new message from the Park Rangers Bumper stickers tell a … Read more
You don’t have to be Irish or Catholic (I’m neither) to find this documentary fascinating. It’s the story of Evelyn Folan from Ballinasloe in County Galway. It’s her thirteenth birthday. The year is 1966. Of course, I wanted to know what happened to Evelyn. According to information found on Facebook she became a teacher but … Read more
Modern life is full of complexity, chaos, and contradictions. In our efforts to cope, some succumb to despair, while others take solace in the knowledge that ’twas ever thus. With Spring on the horizon – if not yet in the air or step – everyone is busy preparing for the new season. Squirrels are digging … Read more
For if ever you are in danger of feeling a wave of quite unreasonable cheerfulness descend, here is a simple antidote: The Three Miseries This is the key to misery It opens its miserable door Attendants glum & gloom greet you half way You bring your fears you call a number They provide the tissues … Read more
I take my title from the South African poet Roy Campbell (1901-1957), who knew a thing or two about lovers and haters. It’s from Georgian Spring, in which Campbell lampooned his fellow poets for their cosy triteness: New quarterlies relume their yellow covers, Anthologies on every bookshelf sing. The publishers put on their best apparel … Read more
This painting dominates a whole wall in the exhibit at the Neue Sachlichkeit / New Objectivity exhibit at the Neue Gallery in NYC. It’s Eclipse of the Sun, by George Grosz (1893–1959) and painted in 1926. There’s a short video with an overview and introduction to the exhibit at the link The exhibit features over 140 … Read more
