Monthly Archives: January 2010

Drowning in green

The wind whipped around my room like a wild beast, rattling the walls, the house literally shaking. I would wake up to find my heavy wooden porch furniture upended by the gales. I slept better this past month than I … Continue reading

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My little island house

I miss it already.

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Snapshots

— I got sucked into The Adventures of Mark Twain almost against my will. It has a ham-hocked script that rushes through the events of Twain’s life (his wife, “You are an eternal boy … why don’t you write about … Continue reading

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On the intense periphery

I started to read Mark Helprin’s masterpiece Winter’s Tale, and had to put it down, since my ability to take in fiction had already started to wane. However, there has been a bit of a seachange lately, and I happened … Continue reading

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Mr. Hardy Regrets

A poor unsuspecting clergyman (a Dr. Grosart) wrote to Thomas Hardy and asked his opinion on how the horrors of life could be reconciled with God’s goodness. He obviously expected a sympathetic ear, or at least a concession to his … Continue reading

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My little house: a small tour

It is so cozy and warm. There is a front porch with a nice rocking swing. There is a front room with a big wide table, perfect for spreading out my writing on. Also perfect for my laptop. The afternoon … Continue reading

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Walt Whitman: “This is What You Shall Do”

Walt Whitman, in his preface to Leaves of Grass: This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote … Continue reading

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“My Business is Circumference”

Letter from Emily Dickinson to her editor, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, July, 1862. The letter is signed “Your Scholar”: Will you tell me my fault, frankly, as to yourself, for I had rather wince, than die. Men do not call the … Continue reading

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Plagiarizing Eliot

I knew that the image of the wind blowing back the waves’ foam like horses’ manes was taken from somewhere – but it was such an a propos image – there really is no other way to say it or … Continue reading

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“A thousand tons of coal…”

Excerpted from The Block Island Times, their fantastic “this week in history” section, by Robert Downie: This week in history, January 28, 1923, Block Islanders were busy mining the coal that would heat their stoves and cook their meals. As … Continue reading

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