It’s time for another four things and this is a random smattering. Commonplacing, Hemmingway, contemporary poetry, and a race with the weather. Enjoy…
what I’m reading
I’ve been very interested in record-keeping the past few weeks, so I’ve been reading books on diaries, journals, letters, sketchbooks, logbooks, and commonplace notebooks. This led me to the book How Romantics & Victorians Organized Information. Unfortunately, it’s not available in audiobook format, so I’ve been reading a good old-fashioned paperback before bed. As I understand it, this book is a doctoral dissertation and it’s definitely written that way. The footnotes citing sources take up half of almost every page! But, once I got through the introduction and preliminary information about the history of keeping a commonplace notebook, it became more interesting. It’s not exactly a book I would recommend, but it’s worth a read (so far) if it’s a subject you want to research.
I have heard commonplace notebooks referenced, but it was only recently that I realized I’ve been actively keeping a commonplace notebook of my own for years. I have a section of my refillable leather journal that is devoted to collecting quotes and making notes on things I read and hear. It’s not about writing down my own thoughts, ideas, and story, but about collecting the words and wisdom of others and then reusing them when they apply to something I’m working on either as a quote, inspiration, or a jumping-off point.
I also realized I have an antique, handwritten commonplace book from the early 1800s with beautiful calligraphy, poems, sonnets, essays, epitaphs, and song lyrics. It looks like it was added to by several people since the handwriting varies, but I’ve enjoyed looking through it with a new understanding.
what I’m watching
It occurred to me the other day that I don’t know very much about Hemmingway, someone who is known as one of the greatest American authors. I felt like I should know more than the fact that he lived in Paris, had a connection to the famous bookstore Shakespeare & Co, and that he had a home in the Florida Keys. So, I started watching Hemmingway, a documentary by Ken Burns. I waffle between feeling sorry for Ernest and deeply disliking how he treats and writes about women. I do like the way he strings words together, though, but I’m not sure I’ll ever read one of his novels.
The documentary, though, is excellent. Well made as you would expect from Ken Burns. Now, I can have a somewhat informed conversation about Hemmingway even if he’s not a favorite.
what I’m loving
I heard this poem in an audiobook I’m reading and I loved it so much. It’s such a great poem articulating how impactful our environment and the things/people we surround ourselves with can limit or spur our growth.
Growth by IN’Q
They say a goldfish will only grow as big as its bowl
But when you put it in a tank, the space can change the way it grows
It needs to have the room or its potential does not show
So its environment is essential for unleashing the unknown
I ponder if it knows that it could grow beyond the bowl
That it could have a pond the size of an Olympic swimming pool
That the world is so much larger than the boundaries that it’s known
Somehow I empathize with this little golden soul…
You can read the rest of the poem HERE. (As a note, there is some strong language in some of his other poems. This one is clean but I just wanted to throw that out there.)
what I’m working on
I am definitely in a race with the weather and I’m not sure if I’ll get the exterior painting and gardening done that I want to before freezing temperatures set in, but I’m going to try to get a few things done this week like installing the shutters and putting the apple espalier trees in the ground. I think I missed the window to spread soil and put in new grass seed, so that’s going to have to wait until spring. I’m sorry that bags of soil will be sitting on our driveway through the winter, but there are worse things in the world.
Today, though, I am painting the wainscoting in the dining room. I want to be able to start working on the mural and get the curtains hung, so this is the next big step to making that happen. I also finished removing glue from a section of the basement floor, so I’m going to give it a thorough cleaning,
15 Responses
So interesting to hear about Hemmingway – I might need to watch that one. I remember enjoying his books when I read them – so long ago, though!
I can’t believe you read a bio of Hemingway and then decided not to read at least one of his books. If you’re worried about being confronted by his treatment of women, try “The Old Man and the Sea”. This is about a man and a fish and is pretty short. You might enjoy it.
I was just re-shelving a large number of books today. (Too many books; never enough bookcases.) My favorite from Hemingway is non-fiction: A Moveable Feast, his account of his early years in Paris. One of my best travel memories was an afternoon my husband and I spent having a drink in each of H’s favorite bars in Montparnasse.
I find reading non-fiction, interspersed with popular/main stream fiction can be refreshing. My preferance is historical non-fiction, and your suggested book on Victorian record keeping sounds fascinating. Kim
It’s funny to me how the worldworks and things intertwine. I’m sitting on the porch of Hemingway’s Birthplace in Oak Park, IL reading your blog about his documentary.
Mindy, small world. I was thinking of Hemingway’s birth home as I started reading Marian’s comments. I, too, live in the area and drive by his home frequently. Perhaps Marian would like our other famous person – Frank!!
Do try and read Hemmingway. Yes, he treated women badly, but he was a gifted writer with a great deal of worldly experience. Try A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Moveable Feast, The Sun Also Rises. You don’t have to like a writer to enjoy their books and short stories. The same is true for actors, directors, producers and other creative people. Some of these people I detest, but enjoying their creative works doesn’t mean that I approve or support their actions or how they lived their lives.
Oh, I agree! I still enjoy studying Picasso even though he was truly a monster to women by most accounts.
Hemmingway gave his heart away as a young man and was treated like sh*t himself by that person. It left such a scar all females became monsters to him. If anyone needed therapy it was him. I imagine the amount of whiskey did him no good too. There are little pearls in his writing. His books are certainly no read in one go. Ah, notebooks. I have garden book dairies as long as I have had gardens around this world, with snippets of my life through the lines of when to sow what, etc. I loved to read old provings of medicine books. The handwriting, the knowledge. I bet you would get lost in The Kuipers Library of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam too. Or the Royal Library in Paris, France. The oval room is breathtaking. To the brim filled with handwritten old work. I love your four things, it is interesting.
Thanks for the introduction to IN-Q. I will definitely be checking him and his work out!
Marian, I highly recommend Mary Oliver’s poetry. You will love it. She has many books out, even one on dogs. I own every one of her books. You can not go wrong with any one of them. I’m sure they are on audio as well. Looking forward to seeing your dining room coming together.
I do love her poetry and have one of her books! Thanks for sharing one of your favorites with me. I’ll check out her dog poetry.
I love that you share all the things- even rabbit holes that some time take us strange places, that creates growth. On the dirt and grass- put it down, lay the seed, then just put a thin layer of compost over the top, the seed will germinate in the spring when it should and its one less job to have starring at you all winter. Since you are starting from seed you will want to over seed in late spring anyway, Then once more time in the end of summer early fall. By this time next year your grass will be lush.
Oh, thank you! So the frost won’t kill the seed if it has a little insulation?
On a trip to Key West, my husband and I rented a home that turned out to be next door to the Ernest Hemingway House. That was fun. There was a watercolor artist selling his paintings on the sidewalk and we bought one of Hemingway’s House and one of the Jasmine House where we were staying. They are both still hanging in my dining room. Very beautiful and colorful place.