“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”- J.R.R. TolkienEver since I was a little girl, I've had a special place in my heart for Thanksgiving. Each year I would get up ridiculously early to watch the Macy's Day Parade, check to see if…
"I wanted to burn her, the wicked witch."-Fyodor Sologub (The Petty Demon)I'm happy to report that conference is now over. I would even go so far as to say that it was fairly successful; I chaired a fascinating panel on graphic novels where I met some interesting people, I got to go and listen to…
"But when we sit together close, we melt into each other with phrases. We are edged with mist. We make an unsubstantial territory."-Virginia Woolf (The Waves)My life is generally all about words these days--finalizing the conference paper, grading assignments and responding to this batch of revised papers. But even though I'm still racing to get…
Sweetest of sweets, I thank you: when displeasureDid through my body wound my mind,You took me thence, and in your house of pleasureA dainty lodging me assigned.-George Herbert ("Church Music")Time is a little of the essence here since I'm a) still in the process of shortening my paper to conference length, b) quite tired since…
The thread of gold cordial flowed from the bottle/with such langour that the hostess found time to say/here in mournful Tauris where our fates have cast us/we are never bored--with a glance over her shoulder.-Osip Mandel'shtam (1917)To be honest, not only was this not the next blog post I envisioned myself writing (this past Saturday,…
Dining with Dostoevsky 