Why do some novels draw me back year after year, while others – perhaps even more worthy – do not? Maybe, as the NPR commentator noted, returning to books read multiple times is like having a drink with an old friend: a mixture of welcome familiarity and suspicion that … Read More
Month: March 2019
“The power of poetry is, by a single word perhaps, to instill that energy into the mind which compels the imagination to produce the picture.”
The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge gave a series of lectures on Shakespeare in 1811-1812. In this particular lecture, Coleridge says that he considers The Tempest to be “among the ideal” plays because it “appeals to the imagination.” Coleridge believes that Shakespeare does this by inserting “some touch or other which … Read More
“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
It’s been a long winter for many of us; we’re weighed down by boots, shovels, and ice scrapers. If you are looking for words of encouragement, consider Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance.” It is (among other things) a pep talk for creative people who are wondering if they can … Read More