The little society, one and all, entered into this laudable design; and set themselves to exert their different talents. The little piece of ground yielded them a plentiful crop. Cunegund indeed was very ugly, but she became an excellent hand at pastrywork; Pacquette embroidered; the old woman had the care of the linen. There was…
"And it seemed that, just a little more--and the solution would be found, and then a new, beautiful life would begin; and it was clear to both of them that the end was still far, far off, and hat the most complicated and difficult part was just beginning." -Anton Chekhov (The Lady with the Little…
A funny thing happened recently. After all of the chaos of the semester--tutoring, meetings, technological difficulties--and feeling like somebody who had often been spread too thin, I suddenly noticed that life had become awfully quiet again. Possibly too quiet. Although there was a part of me that rejoiced at my newfound freedom, there were also a few…
It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. -Wendell Berry When…
The past few weeks have been several shades of brutal. No matter what I've been doing, whether speed reading a book with a looming library due date or keeping up with the piles of dishes that always manage to accumulate when I'm looking the other way, I've felt more than a little pressed for time.…
This is what you have been waiting for, he used to say to me. And I'd say, What?And he'd say, This--holding up my cheese and mustard sandwich.And I'd say, What?And he'd say, This, sort of looking around.-Marie Howe ("The Gate")Last week, last Sunday in fact, this little blog turned 3. It was an occasion that…
He has, if the truth be told, been putting it off for months: the moment when he must face the blank page, strike the first note, see what he is worth. -J.M. Coetzee (Disgrace) May, the Emerald month, has arrived in all of its glory, bringing with it its usual companions of bright colors, blossoms, sunshine,…
What is sometimes called a tongue of flameor an arm extended burning is only the longred and orange branch of a green maplein early September reaching into the greenest fieldout of the green woods at the edge of which the birch trees appear a little tattered tired of sustaining delicacyall through the…
Dining with Dostoevsky 