Category Archives: USA

we owe literature almost everything we are

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

“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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Dear New York, I miss you

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

For those of us with New York City hardwired in our DNA, this year away from the greatest city in the world has been difficult. With vaccination rates up, and with NYC’s iconic sights and institutions reopening, things will normalize … Continue reading →

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Underground History

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Aboveground at Philadelphia’s famous Independence Mall visitors discover an impressive collection of monuments to American history. Often called the “Cradle of American Liberty,” the popular tourist site contains sculptures of Founding Fathers, buildings inside of which the U.S. Constitution was … Continue reading →

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all and sundry Sunday

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we’re done with it, we may find – if it’s a … Continue reading →

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I wish What I wished you before, but harder.

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

THE WRITER Richard Wilbur In her room at the prow of the house Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden, My daughter is writing a story. I pause in the stairwell, hearing From her shut door a … Continue reading →

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A little nostalgic story

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Books were an extraordinarily important part of my childhood and I tend to wax nostalgic when I run across a story online about one that I actually owned and read. This week, I happened on a piece about a book … Continue reading →

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Age is just a state of mind (or not)

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Inspired by his own series of giant paste-up portraits, the French street artist known as  JR started a scheme back in 2011 encouraging people around the world to participate in his Inside Out project by doing their own pastings. They … Continue reading →

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A Strange Case

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

New York City’s amazing Morgan Library has scanned the entire handwritten manuscript to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  and it’s now available for paging through and reading online. The manuscript of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange … Continue reading →

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Hotel Book Club

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Hotel lending libraries are not a novel idea, but the project from Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in conjunction with Literary Hub puts a new spin on the concept. This month they launched the Kimpton X Literary Hub Book Club. Lit … Continue reading →

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Certainement pas The New Yorker

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few attempts to pay homage to the brilliant cover art of the iconic The New Yorker magazine. None compares to the creativity of the project called The Brusseler  from Belgium’s Maison de L’Image … Continue reading →

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