Mary Kinzie
Rather than being primarily an allegory of the mortal artist punished for hubris by a divine one (Marsyas was tricked into admitting he believed his reed flute might rival Apollo's lyre), Marsyas represents for Murdoch, as he clearly did for Titian, the pain of yearning endured and terror faced in the ordeal of creation. The artist is being remade with a new kind of beauty as we watch the painting, and a new definition of heroism is born out of this unbearable unselving.
Alexandre Dumas
- A grain of sand in the centre of the Mediterranean
I think I can assist your researches. Monte Cristo is a little island I have often heard spoken of by the old sailors my father employed - a grain of sand in the centre of the Mediterranean, an atom in the infinite.
Ellen Glasgow
Small, plain, vivacious, with hair of ashen gold, thin intelligent features, and a smile of mocking brilliance, Dorothy was the kind of woman whom men admire without loving and women love without admiring. As a girl she had been a social success without possessing a single one of the qualities upon which social success is supposed to depend.
Herreweghe & Bretagne (trans. Johnston)
- Anton Bruckner
Bruckner's music is at the opposite pole from a totalitarian, reductionist world view. It is far removed from violence, light years away from the cult of power. Like that of Schubert, it is profoundly melancholy; it mourns paradise lost, it strives (and manages), like no other, to evoke calm and reassurance.
Lisa Solomon
- Raw sienna
Siena is a region in Italy that is known for this particular color. It's unclear why artists add an extra "n" to the name. It's an earth pigment and contains iron oxide and manganese oxide. It was produced in this region during the Renaissance and became a staple of later artists' palettes (think Rembrandt). It's one of the first pigments ever used by humans and can be found in many cave paintings. In its natural state it is a yellowish brown and is known as raw sienna.
David Rees
- How To Sharpen Pencils
There is a lively debate among pocketknife pencil sharpeners as to whether it's preferable to place the blade flush with the plane of the pencil shaft, or to run it along the ridge between two sides. Both options have their appeal: Begin flush with the plane, and you can be sure of an even stroke. Begin on the ridge, and you may find the first stroke easier to make. Experiment with both options before making a public declaration of your preference.
Elizabeth Bishop
Cold dark deep and absolutely clear, the clear gray icy water... Back, behind us, the dignified tall firs begin. Bluish, associating with their shadows, a million Christmas trees stand waiting for Christmas.
