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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
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Algernon Charles Swinburne, Camille Paglia, Edmund Spenser, Elizabeth Bishop, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Harold Bloom, Ireland, Irish poetry, Jeanette Winterson, John Millington Synge, Jonathan Swift, Louis MacNeice, Maud Gonne, Michael Schmidt, Philip Larkin, poetry, Rebecca West, Richard Ellmann, Seamus Heaney, T.S. Eliot, Ted Hughes, Ulysses, W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden
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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
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
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
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
Posted in On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Ireland, John Millington Synge, Playboy of the Western World
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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
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
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
Posted in On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Ireland, John Millington Synge, Playboy of the Western World, W.B. Yeats
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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

