Tag Archives: John Millington Synge

“That is no country for old men.” — William Butler Yeats

“I thought we might bring the halves together if we had a national literature that made Ireland beautiful in the memory, and yet had been freed of provincialism by an exacting criticism, a European pose.” — W.B. Yeats William Butler … Continue reading

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The Books: The Aran Islands, by J.M. Synge

Daily Book Excerpt: Memoirs: Next book on the Memoir/Letters/Journals shelf is The Aran Islands, by J.M. Synge “Give up Paris, you will never create anything by reading Racine, and Arthur Symons will always be a better critic of French literature. … Continue reading

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Happy (Belated) Birthday, William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was born yesterday, in 1865. Yeats is a great poet and all that, but I grew up pretty much “over” him because he was kind of omnipresent in our household. We were made to memorize his epitaph … Continue reading

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Today in history: January 26, 1907

Until I get my words back for real, blogging will continue to be photo-oriented, a Facebook version of my blog. I cannot write right now. I am not myself. But today is an important anniversary and one that has family-connections … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, John Millington Synge

Today is the birthday of Irish playwright John Millington Synge – born on this day in 1871. He was author of The Playboy of the Western World, Riders to the Sea, and more – not to mention his wonderful book … Continue reading

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Cherished Objects

One of my more constant activities in my life is weeding through the stacks of books I own, and getting rid of non-essentials. You may be surprised at how difficult this is. I have to get into a very cold-hearted … Continue reading

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Synge Marathon

A breathtaking review of Garry Hynes’ Synge marathon going on in Ireland right now. Actually, it’s over – they did the marathon all this summer, now it’s at the Edinburgh Festival – and I am just crossing my fingers hopefully, … Continue reading

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The Playboy Riots

Today is also the birthday of Irish playwright John Millington Synge, author of The Playboy of the Western World, Riders to the Sea, and many more – not to mention his wonderful book about his time on the Aran Islands, … Continue reading

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What I’m Reading, Part 1

(generated by this post below): In terms of what I just finished reading, in the last two days: Elias Canetti’s extraordinary work Crowds and Power. I’ll post some more excerpts even though no one seems to give a shite. Ha. … Continue reading

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