Shakespearean Fancies

Confession: I graduated as an English major without ever really studying Shakespeare. Of course I encountered bits in classes here and there; but with great regret, I never got the chance to take the famed Ralph Williams Shakespeare course (like Connie did - yes, I'm still jealous). Luckily for me, Professor Williams has been making these clips exploring the timelessness of Shakespeare's works in his uniquely dramatic flair. I hope to watch all of these at once when I'm done with school in about 2 months (ahh!).

You can find the whole collection here: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/archives?classification=spotlight%20shakespeare

In Solidarity

But although my ankles hurt and the backs of my legs ached, it felt very good to be moving, and to be free, and to feel the night air on my face and the grass on my legs, wet from the dew. I know my sister was happy too. She was whistling under her breath. Once when we stopped to rest, she dug her toes into the earth at the edge of a field and smiled. When I saw her smile, I felt strong enough to carry on.

Chris Cleave from Little Bee

Congratulations to my sister for earning her first paycheck as a working woman. It's been a rough transition for all of us. For her, most of all.

"Litany" by Billy Collins

So impressive and dare I say, ironic? A 3 year old reciting a satiric poem about over-the-top love metaphors found in classical poetry.... But really, he doesn't sound at all comedic. Isn't he just so earnest? Though the humor is all but lost when he sounds so sincere and innocent - as I'd imagine good 3 year olds and good love metaphors are wont to be - don't you almost wish this was just a simple love poem? Happy Valentine's Day.

Fitzgerald

I'm currently reading through The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald that I borrowed from the library. I'm making my way through them slowly and relishing every detail. Fitzgerald has such a seemingly effortless way of setting a scene with his carefully crafted words. For me, his lyrical language has been the epitome of great American writing ever since I first read The Great Gatsby in my 10th grade English class.

Anyway, my reading material appears to have found me at the perfect time. As I'm in a Fitzgerald state of mind, news is breaking out everywhere that Carey Mulligan has just been cast as Daisy Buchanan in the Baz Luhrmann-helmed version of Gatsby. She'll be playing opposite to Leonardo DiCaprio's Gatsby and Tobey Maguire's Nick. The casting, though, is really of minimal concern to me. I am generally wary of when my favorite books are made into movies (so, no, I won't be dressing up for the midnight showing of Harry Potter tonight), but sometimes I'm more than pleasantly surprised. So I'll keep an open mind about this as long as it is as gorgeous and heartbreaking as it has always been in my imagination and that it preserves my favorite line in the book (and perhaps one of my favorite lines in all of literature):

--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--

(all photos from the 1974 movie) 

"And still the box is not full"

I devoured John Steinbeck's East of Eden the first time I read it. Swept up in its grandeur like the dry dust in the Salinas Valley wind that Steinbeck depicts, I must have missed the beautiful dedication page. It was evidently a note Steinbeck wrote and attached to the mahogany box he specifically carved to hold his epic manuscript. He sent these things to his old friend, Pascal Convici.

A favorite high school English teacher once told me that she never re-reads a book because "there are too many good ones still out there." But repeat readings appeal to me in their freedom: freedom to savor words and revel in their beauty, freedom to find those little gems one discovers only after the thrill of literary expedition wears off. These books that become like old friends.

Dear Pat,
You came upon me carving some kind of little figure out of wood and you said, "Why don't you make something for me?"
I asked you what you wanted, and you said, "A box."
"What for?"
"To put things in"
"What things?"
"Whatever you have," you said.
Well, here's your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts-- the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation.
And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you.
And still the box is not full.

John

(photo by Dani Padgett)

A Breath of American Air

Hello from Dallas, my layover before Japan! My stay at home was brief but sweet after a truly unforgettable time in Costa Rica with some of my oldest friends. More later, but as I venture onto the next adventure, here is something eloquent and beautiful I found while relaxing along the beach. It's from "En(trance)" by Chris Arthur in The Best American Essays of 2009.

"Memory's version captures a truth about [place], not merely as it appears, but as it was felt, played in, dreamed of, as its lineaments intertwined and pulled on mine, delicately adjusting the sails of childhood to catch the breath of meaning that emanates from things - things that, to an adult's rigging, have only the unbreezy weight of the ordinary about them."

Emma on PBS

PBS's Masterpiece Classics (though to me, it will always be Masterpiece Theatre with the Rondeau from Handel's Watermusic playing as the opening theme) is remaking yet another Jane Austen Classic. I'd be lying if I said Emma was my favorite Austen protagonist, but I can't help but grow attached to this bold yet endearingly unconventional Austen heroine. Afterall what is it in people that I love so much if it isn't non-conformity and quirky idiosyncrasies? Plus, BBC and PBS always do such a beautiful job of staying close to the original writing, choosing to make a 4 hour miniseries rather than sacrifice even a morsel of plot.

On top of that, the visual imagery is stunning while the characters are refreshingly subdued. Oh, and because I'm such a member of the literati and not shallow at all, the boys are quite aesthetically pleasing and their British accents aren't too hard on the ears...

You can stream them online commercial free. Run, don't walk!