Melissa Wiley's Blog, page 177
January 15, 2010
Poetry Friday: "We are not really at home"
For Christmas, Scott gave me the Stephen Mitchell translation of Rilke's Duino Elegies and The Sonnets to Orpheus. Mitchell puts the original German side by side with his English translation. I read just enough German to be tantalized by this, puzzling out phrases and flicking my gaze to the facing page to see how Mitchell has put it.
Rilke's language reminds me, curiously, of Madeleine L'Engle's description of a dolphin's skin in A Ring of Endless Light (via her young poet, Vicky Austin)...
Delicious Links for January 15, 2010
Letters of Note: Your pal, John K. – Advice to an aspiring cartoonist.
Scientists Figure out the Cause of Brain Farts – "A "brain fart" is a term for an inexplicably stupid error in a straightforward task made by someone with abundant skill and experience. Everyone is prone to them. Neuroscientists call these episodes "maladaptive brain activity changes."
The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.: How...
January 14, 2010
Haiti
Like everyone else, we are following the reports from Haiti with heavy hearts.
We are especially worried about the Antoine family near Jacmel, whose oldest boy, Arry, we sponsored through Childreach/Plan USA for 14 years, from age 4 until he turned 18. I watched him grow up in the photos and letters that arrived several times a year, and year by year we shared the news of our own growing family. After Arry aged out of the foster child program, we became the sponsors for children in other...
The Chicken Tikka Masala Post
Whenever I get the opportunity to go out for Indian food, I order chicken tikka masala and aloo gobi. From the very first bite, my whole self is suffused with the most incredible sense of well-being. Must be something in the combination of spices, or maybe it's one spice in particular, who knows: whatever it is, I think it affects me sort of the way chocolate does. Massive endorphin rush? Scott laughs because I shovel in the food and say, "I'm so happy!" after every bite.
So last week I...
January 13, 2010
By the Pricking of My Thumbs…
The Shakespeare Club kids didn't know what was coming. Banquo had just been murdered, and now Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were entertaining the nobles at a feast, and we turned a page and the kids saw the words ENTER BANQUO'S GHOST.
"No way!!!!" broke out from almost every member of the reading circle in unison.
If William Shakespeare could have seen their reaction, it would have made his day.
I love our Shakespeare Club. Sarah and others have asked me several times to elaborate on the format a...
One Year Old Already?
From this
To this
::::::::likethis::::::::
January 12, 2010
Very Big Betsy-Tacy News
The first wave of news alone was enough to make me shriek with joy—
Fresh on the heels of those swoony reissues of the high-school-and-beyond Betsy-Tacy books, HarperPerennial is bringing back Emily of Deep Valley.
And Carney's House Party—and Winona's Pony Cart—these two together in one delicious tome.
You know how much this thrills me. I love Emily so much I actually bought four copies of the last printing to squirrel away for my daughters, just in case she disappeared from bookstores...
Go Philo!
This just in from BookClubGirl: the Philomathian Society swept the day during Betsy-Tacy Convert Week.
A paver stone in honor of the Philomathians will be placed outside Maud Hart Lovelace's home on "Hill Street" that will read:
Philomathians
Convert Week
Winners Fall 09
This proud Philomathian is happy to have been a part of the effort—enthusiastic and successful on both sides—to introduce great numbers of new readers to the Betsy-Tacy books. Thanks to all of you who participated! You've...
January 11, 2010
Delicious Links for January 11, 2010
(I, by the way, am one of the lurkiest lurkers going.)
Susan Taylor Brown – Getting started in art journals – Fabulous collection of links about art journaling. Swoon.Susan Taylor Brown – 31 Blogs You Might Not Know – Melissa Wiley – What an honor! Susan Taylor Brown included Bonny Glen in her awesome 31 Blogs series. I am tickled pink.
A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: Charles and...
An Interview with Julianna Baggott
"Well, if you like your warnings ahead of time, then I'd say watch out for weasels and the Banshee—the Lost Soul of the Lost and Found—and a lot of other Cursed Creatures. Hmmm, and let's see…the mice come in waves. And if you hear hooves coming behind you, crouch down. It's the Pooka, and it won't be a good ride if he grabs you."
—The Prince of Fenway Park
In the early 90s, Julianna Baggott and I were classmates in the MFA Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro...
