Category Archives: Writing

Random but not ephemeral

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I have had the good fortune to have visited Iceland many times over the years, but I still get flummoxed sometimes by the country’s strict naming system.  The Mystery of the Icelandic Naming Committee. The Amsterdam-based artist Frankey brings a playful twist … Continue reading →

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It is no secret

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

It is no secret. All power is one in source and end, I think. Tears and distances, stars and candles, water and wind and wizardry, the craft in a man’s hand and the wisdom in a tree’s root: they all … Continue reading →

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Just wait, to see what’s going to happen.

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

  Raymond Carver’s “At Least” I want to get up early one more morning, before sunrise. Before the birds, even. I want to throw cold water on my face and be at my work table when the sky lightens and … Continue reading →

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Jane Austen : Revolutionary

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I never thought that the English novelist Jane Austen was a revolutionary, but what do I know. In the video below, Evan Puschak explains, with examples, what free indirect speech is, why Austen employed it, and why it was so … Continue reading →

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Regret Nothing

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

ANTILAMENTATION by Dorianne Laux Regret nothing. Not the cruel novels you read to the end just to find out who killed the cook. Not the insipid movies that made you cry in the dark, in spite of your intelligence, your … Continue reading →

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Breakfast At Tiffany’s

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

If you were so inclined, you could pick up a signed first edition of Truman Capote’s novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s for $5000 or less. But why not spring for the artfully rebound version for $1.5 million. The new version sports more … Continue reading →

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A House upon the Height

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Closed since 2019, the Emily Dickinson Museum has now completed a multi-year preservation effort at The Evergreens, aimed at improving environmental conditions for objects in its recently documented collection, and reducing energy consumption. Reopening on March 1, The Evergreens is an integral … Continue reading →

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Petit Livre d’Amour

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Your Valentine’s Day gift will have to be extraordinary to top  the Petit Livre d’Amour (Little Book of Love). This very elaborate handmade book was given by the 16th-century French poet Pierre Salas to his then lover and future wife … Continue reading →

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I prefer Grimms’ fairy tales to the newspapers’ front pages

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

POSSIBILITIES Wisława Szymborska I prefer movies. I prefer cats. I prefer the oaks along the Warta. I prefer Dickens to Dostoyevsky. I prefer myself liking people to myself loving mankind. I prefer keeping a needle and thread on hand, just … Continue reading →

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The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to Travel Between The Pages are well aware of my appreciation for the fantastical books of Lewis Carroll. I certainly have posted enough different editions of his fabulous work over the years. But have you ever stopped to … Continue reading →

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