-
Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of silence and slow time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme: What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What […]
-
A Writer’s Calling
You should not expect a return on your love. The idea that you deserve anything in life leads to disappointment. How many times must we suffer disappointment before we make peace with the idea that it’s a sorry part of life? It’s our lot. We expect so much from others and fine things from ourselves […]
-
Restoration of a Monument
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” George Orwell In town squares dotted all over Upstate New York stand monuments to the sacrifices made by young men who fought and died in the Civil War — to end slavery. Yes, there. I said it. […]
-
Quilting a Life: A Conversation About the Value of Making Art
“Everything you can imagine is real.” Pablo Picasso My daughter-in-law and I chatted all weekend about the creative life, raising children and genealogy as somehow connected to our life’s purpose the last time she was up for a visit with my son and grandson. On this visit Sam brought along a current project she is […]