The following quotes are taken from a single page of the New York Times--page 5--on a single day in history. They were not "history" then, of course; they were simply "news." Under "AMUSEMENTS/MR. EICHBERG'S VIOLIN CONCERT": As a general rule, the performances of young violinists are of the most unsatisfactory character...Miss Chandler, a prepossessing young … Continue reading Adventures in Databasing: NYT Historical, Dec. 31, 1879
Offerings for Emerson at Sleepy Hollow
Emerson's grave is the least appealing of the bunch: a big, honking chunk of quartz, bearing an unreadable plaque, and almost literally overshadowing the smaller stones around it. The effect is not a happy one. I counted only 3 writing instruments, a few stones, and a piece of paper with a somewhat ugly design. It's … Continue reading Offerings for Emerson at Sleepy Hollow
Offerings for Hawthorne at Sleepy Hollow
I have to admit that I was surprised to find Hawthorne here. He did live at the Old Manse for a time (which was also once home to Emerson), as well as The Wayside (which was also home to Emerson and the Alcotts) but he's more properly associated with Salem, both geographically and thematically. He … Continue reading Offerings for Hawthorne at Sleepy Hollow
Offerings for Alcott at Sleepy Hollow
Here's more on my March visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, "Where Concord's Legends Lie." Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) According to Alcott's obituary in the New York Times, March 7, 1888: For a long time Miss Olcott [sic] had been ill, suffering from nervous prostration. Last Autumn she appeared to be improving and went to the … Continue reading Offerings for Alcott at Sleepy Hollow
Offerings for Thoreau at Sleepy Hollow
On March 13, I visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MA. The weather was fair and mild; the snow was melting into rivulets; the mud was copious. As Emily Dickinson wrote: Dear March - Come in - How glad I am - I hoped for you before - Put down your Hat - You must … Continue reading Offerings for Thoreau at Sleepy Hollow
We Need to Talk About Ellipses
"Colonial discourse takes over as it takes cover." -David Spurr, The Rhetoric of Empire An ellipsis, like grief, calls attention to the presence of an absence. It can can do so in a couple of different ways. It can help a sentence trail off suggestively, opening the reader's mind to thoughts unexpressed or still to … Continue reading We Need to Talk About Ellipses
Repurposing Twain: We Need Another Film Version of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”
There are very few film versions of Mark Twain's works. Given the quality of the existing crop, we should probably consider that a blessing. Connecticut Yankee has been filmed a few times. There's a version from 1921, only 11 years after Twain's death, and a televised version from 1978, starring Richard Basehart, Bill Bixby, and … Continue reading Repurposing Twain: We Need Another Film Version of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”
