Leaves, paper leaves, story leaves
taken at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, Mass. I have been treading on leaves all day until I am autumn tired… They spoke to the fugitive in my heart as if it were leaf to leaf. They tapped at my eyelids and touched my lips with an invitation to grief. But it was no reason I had to go because they had to go. Now up, my knee, to keep on top of another year of snow. ~ Robert Frost, The Leaf Treader Robert Frost was my first American poet. The first time I read this poem, many years ago, it...
Read MoreGorgeous Paper Sculptures Pop Up Around Edinburgh
@Edencityoflit’s gorgeous paper sculpture, via Anna @ Anna-Not-Karenina For those who didn’t catch it on GalleyCat or in The Guardian, a remarkable, new-slash-mixed-media artist has been leaving some rather stunning paper sculptures at libraries and other cultural institutions around Scotland. The sculptures–usually addressed to the recipient’s Twitter account–are astonishing, tiny marvels of fantastic bookishness. It is particularly dorky, I know, but this...
Read MoreB&N Doesn’t Carry Catcher in the Rye? Not All The Time
While pulling covers for another post on Friday night, I tried to grab a cover for the Salinger classic Catcher in the Rye on barnesandnoble.com. And here’s the result (image composited from two screen caps): At 11:46: Did the back to school rush wipe out B&N’s stock? Or is it just inventory error? And since when are the Eragon series, James Patterson, and Stephen King shelved next to Catcher? Strangely enough, a second search revealed a more reassuring result: At...
Read MoreMummy, Interrupted (9.10.11)
Being a mother is making me existential. A few weeks ago, I ran into a friend at a coffee shop, someone I don’t see often enough. And while we were chatting, I had an epiphany. Having children hollows you It scoops out all the dross and guts and congealed ideas until you’re left with yourself at your most basic. Luxuries–showers, full bottles of tabasco sauce, unattached, unassigned time–give way to necessities. Necessities like emptying the diaper pail, rushing out...
Read MoreReading: What Makes a Book Unsatisfying?
This post was first published in March 2010, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. As I wind up the first draft of a new project–I’m in that mad, almost love-drunk rush that comes with knowing the end is nigh–I keep drifting back to these three questions: 1. Can I wrap this up without leaving a tangled mess of loose ends? 2. Have I revealed enough for the end to work, or is it just a poorly fashioned deus ex machina? 3. Am I forcing my leads into roles they...
Read MoreMummy, Interrupted (7.2.11)
“Housework can kill you if done right.” ~ Erma Bombeck I am drowning in other people’s stuff. Since having Mir, I have been downsizing–giving away clothes, books, toys. But most of what I’ve cleared is my own: My books, my clothes, a few stuffed toys & trinkets. I am down to around two weeks’ worth of regular wear clothes; I’m buying mostly ebooks; and I’m curating my collections with a careful eye, weighing every possession by the...
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