Literature and Poetry

"In the third series, Louisa has made the decision to give up searching for love, choosing instead to focus on her family. However, with Larry struggling to write his third novel, Margo in search of a new vocation, Gerry continuing to grow his menagerie and Leslie juggling three different girls, Louisa has her work cut out. With an imminent arrival from her Aunt, Louisa hopes that Hermione will be able to help set her children back on the straight and narrow. Each episode features at least something from Gerald Durrell’s fabulous trilogy. The charismatic Indian guest Prince Jeejeebuoy, Gerry’s beloved wall of insects, Margo’s hobby sculpting soap, Leslie’s burglar-shooting system, Larry’s artist visitors including a frequently naked Henry Miller... " more »

The items exploring the vast spectrum of Tolkien's creative and scholarly output range from his early abstract paintings in The Book of Ishness to the tales he wrote for his children. Original manuscripts of his popular classics sit alongside lesser-known and posthumous works and materials, some of which will be on public display for the very first time. The range of objects on display includes Tolkien's creation of language, his childhood and student days, his career as a scholar of literature, and his family life as a husband and father.       more »

Joan L. Cannon wrote: An editor no longer can browse the slush pile for something that might be to his or her individual taste and take a flier on it. As for fiction: the formulas for success (read enormous sales) have multiplied. Does the story have a thriller pace? Check. Plenty of sex, preferably explicit and at least somewhat unconventional? Check. Violence? Check. Shocking characters, scenes, plots? Check. Or, perhaps to fit into another category, it may need to be gently bland, without a suggestion of the unpleasant realities of life and certainly no more than a hint of sex, and make every character call regularly and verbally on the Almighty. Even the category romances of my day have become less rather than more convincing. more »

On June 8, 1968, three days after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, his body was carried by a funeral train from New York City to Washington, DC, for burial at Arlington Cemetery. The exhibit looks at this historical event through three distinct works. The first is a group of color photographs by commissioned photographer Paul Fusco. Taken from the funeral train, the images capture mourners who lined the railway tracks to pay their final respects. The second work features photographs and home movies by the spectators themselves. The third is a 70mm film reenactment of the funeral train's journey, inspired by Fusco's original photographs. more »