Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Fore Edge Fridays

For the first Fore Edge Friday of the year, we have two volumes of the fifth edition of English writer and moralist Hannah More’s, Hints Towards Forming the Character of a Young Princess, printed in London for Thomas Cadell and William Davies in 1819. … Continue reading →

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An Almost Complete Collection

I’ve been a fan of the always original science fiction works written by Philip K. Dick since I was a child. So I found the recently release Folio Society limited edition complete collection of 118 short stories intriguing. As usual, … Continue reading →

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Not a bridge too far

The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has opened up high above the River Paiva in Arouca, Portugal. The bridge stretches for an incredible 516 meters (1,693 feet) across at an elevation of 175 meters (574 feet), offering picturesque views of … Continue reading →

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Death is comprised of deep blue tortures

DEATH POEM ONE Michael McClure DEATH IS COMPRISED OF DEEP BLUE TORTURES and filled with dark chocolate cake. Birth has gone with the losses of endless imagination. A round brown leaf whirls at the tip of a spider thread. I n l a t e Winter I will study the whiteness of plum blossoms and look for knots in an old trunk at the edge of the forest fire near some deer bones. Today marks the first anniversary of the passing of the great American Beat poet Michael McClure.  

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Literature plus Science

 

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Why a Duck

I first discovered the dreamy near Surrealist paintings of the Belgian artist Paul Delvaux at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels many decades ago. I was particularly drawn to his works on trains and train stations. Delvaux was … Continue reading →

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Dawn Days of May

A year ago, in May 2020,the UK has been in lockdown for over a month leaving many people feeling isolated and anxious. Photographer Nick Pumphrey turned to the place where he where he felt safest — the sea. Every day for … Continue reading →

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The Worst Reader

 

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NYC’s Tiniest Museum Reopens

Coincidental with the recent announcement from New York City’s quasi-official tourism bureau that the city has “reawakened” for tourism, NYC’s tiniest museum has declared itself open for business again. Like every other visitor attraction hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the … Continue reading →

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we owe literature almost everything we are

“You said that we owe literature almost everything we are and what we have been. If books disappear, history will disappear, and human beings will also disappear. I am sure you are right. Books are not only the arbitrary sum … Continue reading →

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