Literature and Poetry
4th of July Scout Report: Retraction Watch, Slate's Audio Book Club, Plant Lovers, Genealogists Resources, Boston Massacre Perspectives and Poughkeepsie Regatta
25 Years of Hubble Space Telescope; finding and using health statistics has become requisite for a number of careers; biographies of women who have made contributions to fields as diverse as chemistry, primatology, biophysics, and astronomy; distinctive literary titles with expert book lovers from around the country; retracted papers in a wide variety of fields, some due to fraud, others just to mistakes in experiments or the publishing process; "Start Your Family Research" section; 1940s knitting patterns and other interesting sites. more »
Rabbits In Waistcoats and Playing Card Gardeners; A World of Logical Nonsense: Alice in Wonderland at the Morgan
Alice became a publishing sensation, as the combination of text and illustration brought to life a story that has endured for 150 years. Lewis Carroll's pseudonym is derived from the author's real name, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, by way of Latin: Charles >Carolus>Carroll; Lutwidge>Ludovicus>Lewis. The show includes the original manuscript of Alice as well as original correspondence, unique drawings, handcolored proofs, rare editions, vintage photographs, and important objects associated with the story — some never before exhibited. more »
Joan L. Cannon Reviews: All Passion Spent, The Book and a DVD
Even today, in our hurried, abbreviated attention to a printed page, we still value distinguished diction, carefully guarded and guided irony, and especially meticulous observation. It's worth the effort to enjoy this kind of writing once again. Economy of events substitutes for economy of explanation and description. The book isn't very long, but its shadow is. Not a lot happens, but what does pierces through to a layer below everyday intercourse. more »
Lessons From a Lifetime in the Classroom: YOU and I, ME, US, THEY, THEM, WHATEVER!
Julia Sneden wrote: Pronouns, pronouns, pronouns: does no one these days teach youngsters how to use them? The other day a bemused friend quoted from a sweet letter she had received: "Just seeing your face at Mike and I's wedding..." Unbelievable, you say? Even more unbelievable is the fact that the writer is a graduate student at a major university. The child obviously doesn’t lack brains;what she lacks is proper training in the use of her native tongue. And, perhaps, an introduction to the word "our," which would have been a quick rescue as well as referencing what the ceremony had been all about. more »