Commonplace #9
Some things that recently caught my interest
Exploring Life and Literature
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Dear Friends,
As April comes to an end and May opens her arms to welcome us, my eyes are continually drawn to the birds and flowers that fill my yard. I have more time this year to dedicate to the care and nurturing of these natural friends. I consider myself blessed.
As National Poetry Month comes to a close, I leave you with this haiku.
April's soft farewell—
blossoms yield to deeper greens,
May's warm breath arrives.
Reading is an act of resistance in a landscape of distraction.
David L. Ulin
Things of interest:
If you only read one thing on this list, please read this: Petya K. Grady discusses why it is important to ignore the noise from the elite literary snobbery and read with our heart in her recent essay, The knowledge of feeling.
Gabrielle Dubois Meloff explores why the most attractive people are always interesting. Hint: It isn’t necessarily related to physical beauty.
Philip D. Bunn shares his thoughts on book collecting in his essay, Why I Love Ex-Library Books.
The world needs a wake-up call. This is scary. The average college student today.
Heading For The Exit discusses the art of doing nothing in their essay, Wasting Time.
“Brain rot” has been announced as the Oxford word of the year for 2024, amid concerns over endless social media scrolling and mind-numbing content. Hannah Cao provides some antidotes in her excellent essay, your brain is rotting away, babe.
Adam PT shares thoughts on thinking clearly, choosing better, and living well in his essay, Stoicism and Sobriety.
Megan J. Conner’s children’s book, Francois the Dashing Croaker is now available for purchase.
bea explored The death of the public intellectual in her recent essay.
Transitioning out of the military was one of the biggest challenges of my life. Sam Alaimo challenges all of us, veteran or not, to think deeply in his essay, In War, You Choose Not to Die. In Peace, You Must Choose to Live.
Ted Gioia explores the wisdom of Wendell Berry’s 9 Rules for New Technology.
One of my favorite topics is notebooks, specifically how people use journals and notebooks to record their lives. In a recent essay, my friend Petya K. Grady shares her Notebook ecosystem.
My friend, Tiffany Chu, created this awesome coffee mug you can order for yourself or other readers in your life.
Personal Reading:
Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Collector by Daniel Silva
Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey
A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
Shadows Reel by C.J. Box
Storm Watch by C.J. Box
The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen
Life of the Mind Seminar (The Catherine Project):
Starry Messenger by Galileo
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor
Poetry:
Here is another haiku I wrote while watching the birds at sunrise.
Dawn blush colors sky
backyard birds weave morning songs,
light flutters on wings.
Podcast:
Liza Libes has revised her Pen & Poison podcast to accompany her excellent written publication of the same name.
Final Thoughts:
In case you missed it, the attached file is a poetry anthology I published earlier this month, celebrating the many courageous poets who share their art with the world.
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Until next time,
I love the Haiku you've shared Matthew, and as always with this round-up of recommended reading you've given much food for thought, I loved Petya Grady's posts - thank you! 🙏🏼
Some real gems in that list, thank you Matthew.