Tag Archives: Poetry

a loaf of bread, a glass of wine

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám The First and Fourth Renderings in English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald With Illustrations by Willy Pogány ILLUSTRATED WITH 12 TIPPED-IN COLOR PLATES BY WILLY POGANY AND ADDITIONAL GOLD CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS Publisher: Printed in Great Britain by R.&. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books | Tagged , | Leave a comment

dark as it is

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Thanks W.S. Merwin 1927-2019 Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The night is darkening round me

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me, And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees are bending Their bare boughs weighed with snow; The storm is fast descending, And … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Free Books in Translation

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Archipelago Books is giving away 30 e-books (in ePub or PDF format) from their back catalogue. Most are translated works of fiction, though you’ll also find poetry, such as by the Cuban Dulce María Loynaz (tr. James O’Connor), and the hard-to-categorize Novices of Sias … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, ebooks, Europe, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

All is vanity

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“Herman Melville” by W.H. Auden Towards the end he sailed into an extraordinary mildness, And anchored in his home and reached his wife And rode within the harbour of her hand, And went each morning to an office As though … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

but oh the museums

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

At the End of the Endless Decade Mark Bibbins For years had anyone needed me to spell the word commiserateI’d have disappointed them. I envy people who are more excitedby etymology than I am, but not the ones who can … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Free Books (really)

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

h/t to Stanislav and Milen for the extensive links FAMOUS AUTHORS Classic Bookshelf: This site has put classic novels online, from Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte. The Online Books Page: The University of Pennsylvania hosts this book search and database. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, ebooks, Europe, History, Libraries, Theater, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

We Are The People

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Iggy Pop’s video “We Are the People” is based on a poem written in 1970 by the late, great Lou Reed. Of the poem, Pop told the BBC last year, “My God, this is the country today as I understand … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

At home the bookshelves connected heaven and earth

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Curriculum Vitae Lisel Mueller 1924-2020 1) I was born in a Free City, near the North Sea. 2) In the year of my birth, money was shredded into confetti. A loaf of bread cost a million marks. Of course I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, USA, Writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mail Them Packages of Rats

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

THE PEOPLE OF THE OTHER VILLAGE Thomas Lux hate the people of this village and would nail our hats to our heads for refusing in their presence to remove them or staple our hands to our foreheads for refusing to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment