Category Archives: Reflections

Short Stories Revisited…

24 Tuesday May 2011

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© Daryl Barko Barnett

The writer should never be ashamed of staring. There is nothing that does not require his attention. – Flannery O’Connor

I loved going to the dentist’s office when I was a child because it was there in the waiting room that I first discovered The New Yorker magazine and the literary short story genre within its pages.

Below are the short story books that I return to again and again:

1.  The Collected Short Stories of Colette, edited by Robert Phelps
2.  The Art of Eating by M. F. K. Fisher
3.  High Lonesome by Joyce Carol Oates
4.  Flannery O’Connor, The Complete Short Stories
5.  The Portable Chekhov, edited by Avrahm Yarmolinsky
6.  The Portable Dorothy Parker, introduction by Somerset Maugham
7.  The Night in Question: Stories by Tobias Wolff
8.  Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx
9.  The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro
10. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition
11. Six Tales of the Jazz Age and Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Model: Lauren DiMarco

Poetry Revisited…

23 Monday May 2011

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© Lydia Hudgens

that which we are, we are;
One equal-temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak  by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
from Ulysses by Lord Tennyson 

I recently discovered my high school Victorian poetry book that featured the works of Browning, Tennyson, Arnold, Swinburne, and Rossetti. I could tell from my multiple margin notations that I had no clear understanding about what the poems were about. How could I? What did I know about love, life, and loss at such a tender age?

Over the years I gravitated to the works of the modern poets and when, finally, I revisited the the Victorian giants’ work, I found them to be deeply moving and indeed transformative.

My favorite poetry books:

1.  Ariel by Sylvia Plath
2.  The Colossus and Other Poems by Sylvia Plath
3.  Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins
4.  Nine Horses by Billy Collins
5.  Collected Poems by Jane Kenyon
6.  To Be The Poet by Maxine Hong Kingston
7.  Modern Poetry edited by Maynard Mack, Leonard Dean, and William Frost
8.  The Best American Poetry 1994, edited by A. R. Ammons
9.  The Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson, Introduction by Billy Collins
10. Robert Frost Poetry & Prose, edited by Edward Connery Lathem and Lawrence Thompson
11. Selected Poems by Pablo Neruda, edited by Ben Belitt
12. The Poetry of Lucy Maud Montgomery by Ferns McCabe
13. The Major Victorian Poets, edited by William H. Marshall
14. William Carolos Williams Selected Poems
15. Dinners and Nightmares by Diane Di Prima and Terry Carr
16. Selected Poems of Erza Pound
17. a selection of poems by e. e. cummings, introduction by Horace Gregory
18. The Essential Haiku, edited by Robert Hass
19. The Penguin by John Lennon
20. The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe, Jay Parini, and April Bernard

Your favorite poets?

Model: Lauren DiMarco

Needlepoint Books…

22 Sunday May 2011

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© Joan Currie

Fassett has successfully challenged the idea that knitting and needlepointing are dull, restrained, and limited to certain subjects or patterns. – Catherine Reurs

I have a penchant for Elizabeth Bradley’s exquisite needlepoint designs and two of her books top my list of favorite pattern books:

1.  Needlework Antique Flowers by Elizabeth Bradley
2.  Decorative Victorian Needlework by Elizabeth Bradley
3.  Kaffe Fassett’s Glorious Needlepoint
4.  Flowers, Birds, and Unicorns: Medieval Needlepoint by Candace Bahouth
5.  In Splendid Detail – Needlepoint Art by Catherine Reurs
6.  Donna Kooler’s Glorious Needlepoint
7.  Glorafilia The Ultimate Needlepoint Collection by Carole Lazarus and Jennifer Berman
8.  Erica Wilson’s Needlepoint (The Metropolitan Museum of Art adaptations)
9.  Jill Gordon’s Needlepoint – Glorious Tapestry Designs
10. American Country Needlepoint by Jim Williams
11. Designer Needlepoint edited by Hugh Ehrman
12. Floral Needlepoint by Melinda Coss
13. Nantucket Inspirations by Claire Murray
14. Victorian Needlepoint by Beth Russell

Stepping Out…

18 Wednesday May 2011

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© Hong An Doan

 Fashion fades, only style remains the same. – Coco Chanel

My maternal aunt was a fashionista in the best sense – she wore what suited her regardless of the trends. She had a penchant for couture clothes and became a great fan of the I. Magnin & Company label when she lived in San Francisco beginning in the late 1950s. Being an accomplished seamstress, she often copied the store’s designer gowns right down to the smallest details of construction, fastening, and underskirting.

She never received guests or left the house without being perfectly attired, coiffed, and made-up. Consequently, all the photographs of her portray a beautifully turned out woman – even as an octogenarian.

Model: Lauren DiMarco

Ten Beautiful Children’s Picture Books…

15 Sunday May 2011

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© Khrystyana Kazakova

Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.  – Emile Buchwald

I love the illustrations in children’s books. Tasha Tudor fans may be interested to know that the Medici Society in London published some of the most beautiful paperback picture books that I have ever seen. They may still be found in used books stores, particularly in Britain and Canada. Many of the authors’ work is still for sale in the form of posters, postcards, and prints.

Here are the books my children liked the best from the series:

1.  An ABC For You And Me by Margaret Tempest.
2.  An Alphabet by Molly Brett
3.  Katy Laura and The Dream Boat by Elizabeth Foster
4.  Poems illustrated by Sandy Nightingale
5.  The Margaret Tempest Picture Book
6.  Tom and the Enchanted Flute by Jean Gilder
7.  The Adventures of Plush and Tatty by Molly Brett
8.  Let’s Meet Some Baby Birds by Ella Bruce
9.  The Racey Helps Picture Book with verses by Celia Barlow
10. Freddy the Teddy by Audrey Tarrant

Model – Khrystyana Kazakova

Pulgas Water Temple…

13 Friday May 2011

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© Joan Currie = Woodside, California at the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct's terminus.

I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people . – Temple inscription from Isaiah 43:20

Architect William Merchant designed this Beaux Arts temple in the 1930s with a classical circle of corinthian columns and an ornate masonry ring. It is located in Woodside, California at the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct’s terminus. A reflecting pool lies beyond the temple.

The setting is reminiscent of those depicted in high romance novels  – the  hero and heroine’s secret meeting place.

Ten Beautiful Things I’ve Learned About Blogging…

09 Monday May 2011

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© Joan Currie

After a nine month gestation period, here is what I have learned about blogging:

1.  The blog is your kingdom. You have complete control over its form and content. Unlike other areas of your life, you rule here in your realm. Long may you reign!
2.  The blogosphere is composed of some of the most generous, kind, and helpful people on the planet. Support, link, and connect with members of your blogging community as often as possible. Appreciate those who subscribe to your blog and comment on your posts.
3. Put forth original content.
4. Be bold, take risks, but above all, be authentic.
5. Publish, publish, publish.
6. Perfection is your enemy. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. You can always go back and correct them.
7. Nurture your blog. In the spirit of kaizen or continuous improvement, keep working to make your blog the best it can be.
8. Blogging is powerful. It can transform lives, save lives – even bring down governments. Use that power wisely for the good of mankind.
9. Resist the temptation to publish images and/or content for the sole purpose of increasing your statistics.
10. Have fun experimenting with this amazing medium. Enjoy and take pride in your creation!

Ten Beautiful Things My Mother Taught Me…

08 Sunday May 2011

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statuepamse

I never look back – life is too short. – My Mother

1.  The basic ballroom dance steps at a very young age so that I would always feel at home on the dance floor.
2.  Lyrics to practically every big band and show tune.
3.  How to throw a large party and be a great hostess.
4.  A glass half-full attitude that included not dwelling on the past and appreciating the here and now.
5.  How to sketch, draw, and compose photographs.
6.  The correct way to apply lipstick, eyeliner, and false eyelashes.
7.  How to bake, especially pies, bundt cakes, and butter tarts.
8.  A love of the written word – how to type, write copy, read a literary novel, and recite poetry.
9.  How to finesse a trick in bridge and win at gin rummy.
10. How to pack for a trip, including – take your own brand of teabags wherever you go to ensure that you will always have a good cup of tea.

Thanks, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!

Ten Latin Dance Songs…

05 Thursday May 2011

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© Lauren DiMarco

Here are my favorite Latin dance songs – perfect for a Cinco de Mayo party!

1.  Y Yo Sigo Aqui – Paulina Rubio
2.  Maria – Ricky Martin
3.  Objection (Tango) – Shakira
4.  Hips Don’t Lie – Shakira
5.  I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) – Pitbull
6.  On the Floor – Jennifer Lopez
7.  Dance Dance – Thalia
8.  Oye el Boom – David Bisbal
9.  I Like It – Enrique Iglesias, featuring Pitbull
10. Conga – Gloria Estefan

Model: Lauren DiMarco

Books that Made a Difference Early on…

04 Wednesday May 2011

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© Lydia Hudgens

Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen. Like friends, too, we should return to them again and again for, like true friends, they will never fail us – never cease to instruct – never cloy. – Charles Caleb Colton 

For better or for worse, my view of the world was shaped early on by the following books:

1.  Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
2.  The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
3.  The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
4.  The Story-Makers edited by Rudy Wiebe (particularly the short story, Guests of the Nation by Frank O’Connor)
5.  A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
6.  Lust for Life by Irving Stone
7.  My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
8.  The Sun King by Nancy Mitford
9.  The Major Victorian Poets edited by William H. Marshall
10. Mythology by Edith Hamilton
11. A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
12. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
13. Hedda Gabler play by Henrik Ibsen
14. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
15. The Stranger by Albert Camus
16. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
17. Hills Like White Elephants, short story by Ernest Hemingway
18. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
19. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
20. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
21. Metamorphosis, novella by Franz Kafka
22. The Penguin by John Lennon
23. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
24. Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
25. The Mountain is Young by Han Suyin
26. Love Story by Eric Segal
27. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
28. Romeo and Juliet, play by William Shakespeare
29. 1984 by George Orwell
30. Animal Farm by George Orwell
31. The Divine Comedy, epic poem by Dante
32. The Odyssey, epic poem by Homer
33. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
34. Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener

I would love to know what books top your list?

Model: Lauren DiMarco