Who knew that Edward Gorey designed the sets for the U.S. revival of the 1924 stage play Dracula ? I certainly did not, but this fascinating article on the terrific CrimeReads blog does a deep dive into the story.

Andy Weir’s The Martian was released in bookstores ten years ago. To celebrate, he wrote a new “lost” chapter of the book.

Like many readers, I know of M.R. James for his famous book The Collected Ghost Stories. What I didn’t know was that James was a medieval scholar and an esteemed expert on the history of libraries and medieval manuscripts. This very interesting story at the Medieval Manuscripts Blog tells the story.

The Clachan Sound, in western Scotland, connects at both ends to the Atlantic Ocean.

So the Clachan Bridge, which crosses it, is known as the Bridge Over the Atlantic.

I was intrigued by this photo when I stumbled upon it not long ago. There was something compelling in the expressions on the faces of both the child and the cat. I found the story behind the image at the Smithsonian Institution website.

This photograph was taken when Constance Stuart was on assignment for Harper’s Bazaar, an American magazine. Her task was to create a portfolio inspired by the seminal book “Cry, The Beloved Country,” which had brought the conditions in South Africa to the attention of the world. The author of the book was the South African writer Alan Paton (1903-1988). It was published in the United States in 1948. Alan Paton accompanied her on the assignment. In June 1949, Harper’s Bazaar published an essay by Alan Paton entitled “A Letter from South Africa in which Alan Paton Guides you to his Corner of the ‘Beloved Country’.” Six photographs by Constance Stuart accompany the essay.

Gwendolyn Brooks was the first Black winner of the Pulitzer Prize and remains one of the most popular and widely-read poets of her generation. Brooks has influenced countless writers, readers, and activists since publishing her first poem at the age of 13. Brooks was a community poet who left major publishing houses in order to work and publish with smaller Black-led presses, including Chicago’s Third World Press and Broadside Press. We shouldn’t wait until Black Month to enjoy her reading of the wonderful poem We Real Cool.

Watch the official video for The Beatles’ “I’m Only Sleeping,” directed by Em Cooper. Beautiful harmonies, experimental recording methods and avant-garde composition combine to create this dreamlike song, evocative of The Beatles’ pioneering approach to the music of Revolver. Artist and director Em Cooper explored the space between dreaming and wakefulness, working on an animation rostrum on sheets of celluloid. She painted every frame individually in oil-paint, a laborious process which took many months.

The city of Paris was going to close the bouquinistes (booksellers) along the Seine for the Olympics but Macron nixed that plan. In their defense, the booksellers quoted Camus: “Everything that degrades culture shortens the paths that lead to servitude.” [nytimes.com]