While looking for the title of a specific book (Eros and Magic in the Renaissance by Culiano and Cook) that I knew to be in one of my research notebooks, I came across a little scrap of paper on which I had written a description of a masked ceremonial dance — probably something from the […]
I have just finished a conference where we read and discussed in great depth Emile Zola's novel, Au Bonheur Des Dames (The Ladies Delight.) The novel, set in the late 1860's, centers on the invention of the department store (based on the historical store Bon Marché in Paris). The owner Mouret — a scoundrel and
The Splendor Of Shopping: Emile Zola and Au Bonheur Des Dames (The Ladies’ Delight) Read More »
“The strangest of all the phantasms described is, perhaps, the Youaltepoztli, literally, “the night hatchet or axe.” It manifested itself by causing loud intermittent sounds resembling those produced by the blows of an axe in splitting wood. These ominous sounds were audible at dead of night in the mountains, and inspired terror, for they were
Youaltepoztli: The Night Hatchet Read More »
“It is springtime, he goes off with the peasants to mow the fields. in the beginning the task seems too arduous for him. He is about to give up when the old peasant leading the row calls for a rest. Then they begin again with their scythes. Once again Levin is about to collapse
From The Scythe To The Pen Read More »
Well…this is nice! I just learned earlier this week when a check arrived that Jane and I had sold our novel Except the Queen in Turkey. I knew the Italian deal was in the works, so it was awesome finding this cover of the Italian edition on the internet with its new title that translates
New Editions of Except the Queen in Italy and Turkey Read More »
I rejoice at finding wonderful items on the internet, but I am also pleased in being found. I recently received a terrific email from a middle school English teacher whose sixth grade class was tackling poetry with some difficulty at the start. This is what she wrote to me: After teaching all kinds of dry
A Return to How They Drank In The 40s Read More »
I received my reversion of rights letter on Saturday for my young adult novel Hannah's Garden and am now very excited. I have sent to this place, to have the novel returned into a file that I use to upload to an e-reader. I am also working with a couple of local artists to get
Hannah Comes Home and I Encounter Svetla Dorosheva Read More »
"Children hear them, see them, know them; See the things the fairies show themHarlequin in magic poses." From the 1923 Commedia play: The Harlequinade, by Dion Clayton Caltrop and Granville Barker. The painting is "Carnevale di Arlecchino" by Joan Miro. Both seem to be kicking up some new ideas for the new novel…which fairly soon must
Harlequin in Magic Poses Read More »
Lately, I have been reading a lot of Italian fairy tales as a kind of inspiration and preparation for the new novel I am working on, a companion to The Innamorati. As the plot is a renaissance road trip with a young woman in search of herself and her trickster companion (to create a little drama along
Return to Sender: The Rejected Brides of Fairy Tales Read More »
Sometimes it seems as if there is very little difference between the act of writing a novel and the act of building a garden. I love doing both and occasionally it is necessary to do one while ignoring the other. Thus I have been absent from the blog and my desk in general because I have
There’s Writing and Then There’s Gardening: Hard to Tell the Difference Sometimes Read More »
