Magnificent Octopus

Another season of Mad Men has come and gone, and I thought it time to update the list of books (and poems, and other reading material) sight...

Outside on the summer veranda was a large snowdrift that the northwest wind had swept up in a bold curve, both playful and austere. A light,...

I fell into a vivid and deep sleep: I dreamed I was in literature class at my gymnasium; I was sitting, as usual, at the desk with Shtiurmer...

"You went to school," Lee said. "I mean, at some point. And it didn't suit you very well. They wanted too teach you thing...

Here's a neat way to think about it: The online dictionary is steampunk... Victorian design merged with modern propulsion... > On...

Amo Ergo Sum Because I love     The sun pours out its rays of living gold     Pours out its gold and silver on the sea. Because I love...

"The most fundamental thing about a person is desire. It defines them. Tell me what a person wants, truly wants, and I'll tell you ...

If Teddy ever cried when he was younger, Ursula could never bear it. It seemed to open up a chasm inside, something deep and dreadful and fu...

Here's one of the most interesting personality quizzes that I've ever seen: If words were weapons, which poet would you be? I don...

Katri's advice was widely discussed in the village and struck people as correct and very astute. What made it so effective, perhaps, was...

One of the perks of working from home on a dreary damp day...

TED Talks: Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate, offers up some animated poems. In which Billy Collins confesses, "Bugs Bunny i...

Sylvie's knowledge, like Izzie's, was random yet far-ranging, "the sign that one has acquired one's learning from novels, r...

In case you hadn't heard, China Miéville now writes comic books. Smart, funny, weird comic books. Art by Mateus Santolouco. What...

TED Talks: Chip Kidd, a page-turning, dog-earring, notes-in-the-margins-taking ink sniffer.

For all of Sylvia Plath's poetry that I've been reading lately, most of it doesn't speak to me. Sure, I appreciate her nice turn...

With drawings! My edition doesn't have any drawings. (See " And Now a Word from Our Sponsors .")

Humans multiplied and covered the Earth. Dependent on flesh and time, people began to live by the laws of the brain. They thought that the b...

It's been nigh on a month that I hosted a breakfast salon at the 15th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, in whic...

I loved Claire Messud's The Woman Upstairs . It's been a while since a book resonated with me in such a meaningful way. I've r...