Just a Slow Month

I don't actually know if many people stumble upon this little blog. I write it for myself for the most part, but it would be nice to know if there were people out in big ole Internet land who enjoy my ramblings.

It's been a slow month for interesting news, and a busy month for personal matters. So, this blog o mine has suffered from lack of new content.

Off the top of my head, discoveries that I should pass along are a couple of bands - My Brightest Diamond, who's lead singer Shara Worden's voice is so beautiful it is almost painful, and Patrick Watson who sings on my favorite Cinematic Orchestra song "To Build a Home".

Meanwhile, as usual when things are slow and my life is busy, I turn to Ms. Parker for words of wisdom. Maybe you'll find some here as well.

Bric-a-Brac

Little things that no one needs --
Little things to joke about --
Little landscapes, done in beads.
Little morals, woven out,
Little wreaths of gilded grass,
Little brigs of whittled oak
Bottled painfully in glass;
These are made by lonely folk.

Lonely folk have lines of days
Long and faltering and thin;
Therefore -- little wax bouquets,
Prayers cut upon a pin,
Little maps of pinkish lands,
Little charts of curly seas,
Little plats of linen strands,
Little verses, such as these.

Begrudgingly Promote a Book Sale

I have to admit it, I hate to advertise a good sale. You might get there before me and find something wonderful that I want! But, its for a fantastic cause and everybody knows that I love books. So...make plans.

THE KENAN RESEARCH CENTER AT THE ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER HOSTS FIRST ANNUAL BOOK SALE

Atlanta, GA The Kenan Research Center will hold its inaugural Annual Book Sale the weekend of September 21-23, 2007 in the Jesse Draper Members Room of McElreath Hall at the Atlanta History Center. The sale is open to the public from 10:00 AM 4:00 PM on September 21st and 22nd, and 12:00 PM 5:00 PM on September 23rd.

Come choose from 1,000 titles featuring a wide-range of topics including Atlanta history, American history, southern gardening, fiction, biography, and the Civil War at bargain prices while helping the Kenan Research Center!

Admission for the Book Sale is free. Most books are priced between $1-$5. All proceeds from the book sale will benefit the preservation of rare books and manuscripts at the Kenan Research Center. For more information about the Book Sale or the Kenan Research Center, please contact Senior Archivist Paul Crater at 404.814.4049.

The Ladies of the Corridor

I got a tasty little morsel in the mail yesterday. Anyone who has read this blog knows that I'm a fan of the marvelous Ms. Dorothy Parker. Recently, Pengin Classics released a new edition of her collaboration with Arnaud d'Usseau.

The play is heartbreaking. It's so honest. You can see shards of her in every page- the real Dorthy Parker - not just the witty, fork-tongued dragon (though there are glimpses) but of the deeply depressed, alcohol-soaked anger that she struggled with throughout her life.

Marion Meade wrote a wonderful introduction to the book that puts the reader in the picture as to what was going on with Mrs. Parker during this time in her life. As usual Marion Mead is brilliant. She is without a doubt my favorite biographer.

This is a wonderful play. It was badly received on Broadway when it opened, and not incredibly well received in 2005 when it was reprised. It's a play that should be read. It's a play for for those who love Mrs. Parker.

Like Dorothy Parker - it is beautiful, tragic, perfectly-imperfect, and heartbreaking.