As a knitter and a weaver, I was so struck by how much handwork there was involving knotting, netting, and the interlacing of reeds, braided threads, slivers of metal, and leather in the making of the various armor plates covering the chest, back, top of the hips and arms. While relatively light to wear compared […]
Samurai Armor: The Textile Quality of the Woven, Knotted, and Tied Armor Plates. Read More »
Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughsAbout the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,The night above the dingle starry,Time let me hail and climbGolden in the heydays of his eyes,And honored among wagons I was prince of the apple townsAnd once below a time I lordly had
For a Green Summer: Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas Read More »
Let me confess: I'm utterly fascinated by the enigmatic Renaissance rebel poet Pietro Aretino. His writings, which often led to him evading furious cardinals and creditors, and his correspondences with influential men who could have potentially blackmailed them earned him the moniker 'Scourge of Princes.' Aretino's life was a captivating juxtaposition of
Pietro Aretino and The Sixteen Pleasures Read More »
Commedia dell’Arte troupes crisscrossing the country to perform are often at the mercy of events they have no control over, like difficult audience members and bad weather. In the midst of rain and misery, the kindness of an unexpected patron in a small village becomes a welcomed gift. Food, wine, and local stories fuel the
From The Innamorati: The Libertini Create New Work in the Midst of Feasting Read More »
The Commedia dell’ Arte in the 16th century was a vigorous form of theater, and a largely improvised theater, with established stock plots and bits of commedic exchange that employed a free flowing rehearsal — a chance to invent and reinvent the plays so the performances remained fresh and current to their audiences. For the
Excerpt from The Innamorati: The Libertini Rehearse I Read More »
Commedia dell'Arte troupes crisscrossing the country to perform are often at the mercy of events they cannot control, like difficult audience members and lousy weather. Amid rain and misery, the kindness of an unexpected patron in a small village becomes a welcomed gift. Food, wine, and local stories fuel the actors' imaginations. The
From The Innamorati: The Libertini Create New Work in the Midst of Feasting Read More »
I am uncertain where this piece of information came from originally — I neglected to write down the cite perhaps already transforming it into a scene I myself might write, while metally putting it into the “truth is stranger than fiction” category. “A troop of Mattacini (masqueraders) came to celebrate a bridegroom’s wedding and invited
A Deadly Performance Read More »
"Let us amuse ourselves today, You will never guess my name, and I won't ask you to try. I am a mad spirit or goblin. I come from the other world, and one of those spirits, Actus or Plautus orders me to tell you that a comedy will be played this evening."
Angelo Beolco, Playwright and Actor 1502-1542 Read More »
This is a complicated moment in the novel when several threads come together, all for the purpose of resolving Anna’s terrifying possession. Having accepted the maenad’s mask, and now in its spell, Anna throws herself into the bloody revels of the maenads following Bacchus. Two men with separate interests in Anna have been searching for
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Anna’s Return Read More »
Anna’s personal journey into the maze has to do with her belief that her anger at lost love incited her miscarriage. Within her own body she “feels” the curse like the twisting of thorns which keeps her in constant pain and makes it impossible for her to create the masks she loves. She believes, as
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Anna Surrenders Read More »
