I took out two books from the Jones Library in Amherst, both delightful views of the world of Emily Dickinson. Ferguson Jenkins’ ‘Emily Dickinson: Friend and Neighbor’, which I discussed in my last post, is an inside view by one of the children Miss Emily allowed into her inner sanctum. Daniel Lombardo’s ‘A Hedge Away: […]

I just finished rereading the most delightful book I’ve read in a very long time: ‘Emily Dickinson: Friend and Neighbor’ by MacGregor Jenkins. “Mac” Jenkins and his sister Sally, known as “Did,” were part of a group of children who played on the grounds of the Dickinson mansion. Their father, the Reverend Jonathan Jenkins was […]

The ignoramuses (ignorami?) who write automobile advertisements have declared Chevrolet to be “the most awarded car company in the USA.” And this deplorable diction has been picked up by ignorami all over the place. Diplomas are awarded. Damages are awarded to plaintiffs in lawsuits. Degrees are awarded to worthy recipients. But I have never heard […]

I always look forward to the Amherst League of Women Voters book sale — a whole gymnasium filled with good books for not much in a town with a lot of readers. I stocked up on my guilty pleasure, Robert B. Parker detective stories, and picked up some Lillian Jackson Braun “Cat Who” books for […]

I have heard for years about the Lilith Fair, and when I asked who Lilith was, I always heard, “Adam’s first wife,” and that was puzzling to me because I couldn’t find any reference to her in the bible. Turns out she’s not in the bible, but she’s mentioned in what is called rabbinical literature […]

I have blogged before, on numerous occasions, abour my effort to get rid of the clutter in my house. I have undertaken a mission of ‘Swedish death cleaning’ to relieve my heirs of the problem of getting rid of my clutter. So when I come upon a volume that I thought I might want to […]

Some years ago, on a car trip, my daughter and I listened to a tape of How the Irish Saved Civilization, a really superb book by Thomas Cahill, about how Christianity, and learning, and even literacy, and all the writings of Greek and Roman authors, were all confined by pagan conquests to the religious communities […]

I’m having tremendous fun with a book by a friend of mine, Laszlo Tikos, called “Gogol’s Art: A Search for Identity.” Laszlo was a professor of Russian literature at UMass for many years, and with this book he has added a whole new dimension to my appreciation for one of the world’s greatest writers. The […]