Category Archives: Books

le retour des libraires

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

In 18th century Paris the Palais Royal housed booksellers in the galleries under the arcades and a new exhibition next month hosted by Les Enluminures will celebrate this heritage. Le Retour des libraries au Palais-Royal will run at the Les … Continue reading →

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It’s Edgar Allan Poe Season

Posted on October 24, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Here in North America we are all diving into the Halloween season with abandon this year in a vain effort to avoid the constant daily reminders of the slow motion demise of Democracy. Even without the the need to distract … Continue reading →

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A book banned and burned by Nazis

Posted on October 20, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

In the summer of 1915, the Armenians of six villages on the Mediterranean coast received the same order as Armenians across the Ottoman Empire. Leave your homes and join a death march into the desert. They knew what that order … Continue reading →

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Kerouac goes home

Posted on October 18, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

The Jack Kerouac Center has released new architectural renderings by Boston-based Flansburgh Architects showing how Lowell’s former St. Jean Baptiste Church will look as a museum, performance venue and cultural center honoring the life and work of Jack Kerouac. The plans … Continue reading →

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Never has our future been more unpredictable

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest—forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of … Continue reading →

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Why A Duck (Redux)

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

This amazing book sculpture was created by Thomas Wightman for Visit Scotland. The work celebrates a childhood train journey over the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct bridge. It may look familiar, if you’ve ever seen a Harry Potter film. all images ©Thomas Wightman

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Eventide

Posted on July 31, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Mary Ruefle erasure of Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Carl Jung once wrote: “Thoroughly unprepared we take the step into the afternoon of life; worse still, we take this step with the false assumption that our truths … Continue reading →

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Fairy tales are about trouble

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Fairy tales are about trouble, about getting into it and out of it, and trouble seems to be a necessary stage on the route of becoming. All the magic and glass mountains and pearls the size of houses and princesses … Continue reading →

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Birds of America

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

If you’re in Maine, you might want to check out First Fridays at Bowdoin College’s Special Collections Library. On the first Friday of every month, people gather together for a surprise. Some of them have even placed bets on the … Continue reading →

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Hope is a thing with feathers

Posted on June 29, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

“Hope” is the thing with feathers — That perches in the soul — And sings the tune without the words — And never stops — at all — And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard — And sore … Continue reading →

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