“The Shaft I Crave” — Two Sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I’ve been greatly enjoying Nancy Milford’s biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay title ‘Savage Beauty’. Millay at one time was the best known poet in America, reading to sold-out houses all across the country. The famous literary critic and author Edmund Wilson (my grandmother’s cousin) fell in love with her even before he met her. […]
Kinsey and Me: A Rare Glimpse of Sue Grafton
Readers of Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series know that her heroine, Kinsey Millhone, was orphaned at the age of five and raised by her Aunt Gin, who died when Kinsey was in her twenties. So, at least at the start of the series, Kinsey has no family. (Some cousins turn up in later books.) One of […]
A Fascinating Compendium of Amherst History
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: […]
“A World of Hidden Lovely Things”
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 […]
‘Decimate’ Means ‘Reduce by One Tenth’
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 […]
Fiona Buckley’s Ursula Blanchard Series
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 […]