September 5th is
Cheese Pizza Day
Be Late for Something Day *
Jury Rights Day *
Two-Ingredient Cocktail Day
U.N. International Day of Charity *
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ON THIS DAY: September 4, 2020
September 4th is
Eat an Extra Dessert Day
Macadamia Nut Day
Newspaper Carrier Day *
National Wildlife Day *
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MORE! Mary Renault, Richard Wright and Margaret Atwood, click
Posted in History, Holidays, On This Day
Tagged Geronimo, Margaret Atwood, Marilena de Souza Chaui, Mary Renault, Pindar, Richard Wright, Simone de Beauvoir
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Word Cloud: EXPERIENCES
by NONA BLYTH CLOUD
I was in San Francisco for the “Summer of Love.” They were heady days. I got to hear all the cool bands, and anything seemed possible. People, mostly kids like me, came from many places seeking a lot of things, but Freedom was on everybody’s list.
Thom Gunn (1929-2004) was already there. He was an Englishman, who had gone to Trinity College, Cambridge, after two years of national service, and there he met the Love of His Life, at a cast party for an Amateur Dramatic Club production of Cyrano de Bergerac, on December 7, 1952 – one of the cadets in the show, an American student named Mike Kitay. They would be together in a changing relationship for the rest of Gunn’s life.
The poetry Gunn wrote at Cambridge became his first book, Fighting Terms, which was published in 1954. While his poems paid homage to the poets of earlier ages, he was already experimenting.
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To his Cynical Mistress
And love is then no more than a compromise?
An impermanent treaty waiting to be signed
. . . . By the two enemies?
– While the calculating Cupid feigning impartial blind
Drafts it, promising peace, both leaders wise
To his antics sign but secretly double their spies.
On each side is the ignorant animal nation
Jostling friendly in streets, enjoying in good faith
. . . . This celebration,
Forgetting their enmity with cheers and drunken breath,
But for them there has not been yet amalgamation:
The leaders calmly plot assassination.
“To his Cynical Mistress” from Fighting Terms, © 1954 by Thom Gunn – Faber and Faber
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Tamer and Hawk
I thought I was so tough
But gentled at your hands,
Cannot be quick enough
To fly for you and show
That when I go I go
At your commands.
Even in flight above
I am no longer free:
You seeled me with your love,
I am blind to other birds –
The habit of your words
Has hooded me.
As formerly, I wheel
I hover and I twist,
But only want to feel,
In my possessive thought
Of catcher and of caught
Upon your wrist.
You but half civilize,
Taming me this way.
Through having only eyes
For you I fear to lose,
I lose to keep, and choose
Tamer as prey.
“Tamer and Hawk” from Fighting Terms, © 1954 by Thom Gunn – Faber and Faber
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Posted in Poetry, Word Cloud
Tagged David Biespiel, Haight Ashbery, Mahmoud Darwish, Mike Kitay, san francisco, Summer of Love, Thom Gunn, UC Berkeley
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ON THIS DAY: September 3, 2020
September 3rd is
Penny Press Day *
Welsh Rarebit Day
U.S. Bowling League Day
National Skyscraper Day *
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MORE! Prudence Crandall, Frederick Douglass and Alice Gibson, click
A Poem by Eugene Field on His Birth Day
Eugene Field Sr. (1850-1895) was born on September 2, 
1850, in St. Louis, Missouri; American writer, best known for his poems for children, and humorous essays. In 1875, he started his career as a reporter for the St. Joseph Gazette, and rose to be the newspaper’s city editor. The Gazette was the first paper to print his humorous articles. He moved on to work for the Morning Journal in St. Louis, the Kansas City Times, and the Denver Tribune. He started publishing poems in 1879, eventually producing over a dozen volumes of poetry, mainly for children. In 1883, he began writing a column called Sharps and Flats for the Chicago Daily News. He died of a heart attack at the age of 45.
Are you a book collector, an obsessive reader, or a combination of both?
A book collector is someone who loves the container as much as the contents – they search for first editions, and are the proud possessors of libraries filled with beautiful leather-bound volumes.
An obsessive reader is someone who cares more about what’s inside, who is happy with a stack of second-hand paperbacks to read. They automatically read any print that’s in front of them – cereal box nutritional information, street signs, advertisements – if it’s printed in their native tongue, they’ll read it – and if it isn’t, they’ll try to figure it out anyway. But their first loves are a good story, and a poem that resounds.
As you’ve probably guessed, I’m an obsessive reader. I do appreciate the feel in my hands of a beautifully made book, and the delightful smell of quality leather – but if it’s a choice between buying one gorgeous, expensive volume, or dozens of paperbacks, I’ll buy the paperbacks.
“The Bibilomaniac’s Prayer,” by Eugene Field, pokes some gentle fun at the type of book collector who has become completely obsessed, not just with owning the books, but with beating out his competition for all those rare and elusive volumes.
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To read “The Bibilomaniac’s Prayer,” click:
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Book Collectors, Books, Eugene Field Sr, First Editions, Obsessive Readers, The Bibilomaniac’s Prayer
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ON THIS DAY: September 2, 2020
September 2nd is
V-J Day II *
Grits for Breakfast Day
Blueberry Popsicle Day
Calendar Adjustment Day *
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MORE! Lili‘uokalani, Barack Obama and Salma Hayek, click
Posted in History, Holidays, On This Day
Tagged Anne Whitney, Barack Obama, Bryher, Eugene Field Sr, Lili‘uokalani, Salma Hayek, Teddy Roosevelt
1 Comment
SEPTEMBER 1, 1939 – a poem by W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden (1907-1973) was born in York, England; Anglo-American poet, playwright, 
essayist, and literary critic; known for his stylistic and technical abilities, as well as his wide range of themes, including politics, morality, love, and religion. He moved to the U.S. in 1939, and became an American citizen in 1946. His books of poetry include Poems, published when he was 23 years old, The Orators, The Age of Anxiety, and The Dyer’s Hand. From 1956 to 1961 he was Professor of Poetry at Oxford; his lectures were popular with students and faculty. After his death at age 66, his poems became known to a much wider public than during his lifetime because of their use in films, broadcasts, and popular media.
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To read Auden’s poem, ‘September 1, 1939,’ click:
Posted in Poetry, World War II
Tagged 52nd Street in New York City, September 1 1939, W.H. Auden
3 Comments
ON THIS DAY: September 1, 2020
September 1st is
International Day of the Taiji Dolphins *
Emma M Nutt Day *
World Letter Writing Day *
No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day *
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MORE! Emma Stebbins, Cetshwayo and Padma Lakshmi, click
Posted in History, Holidays, On This Day
Tagged Cetshwayo, Emma M. Nutt, Emma Stebbins, José María Castro Madriz, Padma Lakshmi, Phillis Wheatley, Walter Reuther
1 Comment
ON THIS DAY: August 31, 2020
August 31st is
African Traditional Medicine Day *
National Eat Outside Day
National Trail Mix Day
We Love Memoirs Day *
Love Litigating Lawyers Day *
International Overdose Awareness Day *
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MORE! Amrita Pritam, Leonard Harmon and Yumiko Ōshima, click
TCS: SMOKE – All That Life Unseen / Under a Bare Sky
. . .Good Morning!
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Welcome to The Coffee Shop, just for you early risers
on Monday mornings. This is an Open Thread forum,
so if you have an off-topic opinion burning a hole in
your brainpan, feel free to add a comment.
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The gods themselves pass
Yet poetry that reigns
Indisputably remains
More indestructible than brass.
– Théophile Gautier, from ‘Art’
Posted in Poetry, The Coffee Shop
Tagged Amrita Pritam, August 31 Birthdays, French poetry, Punjabi poetry, TCS: SMOKE - All That Life Unseen / Under a Bare Sky, Théophile Gautier, Translation
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