Neil Simon wins Twain award

Neil Simon wins the Twain Award for American humor

from Jacqueline Trescott's article today in the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061401428.html?referrer=email&referrer=email

Neil Simon, one of America's most successful playwrights, has been chosen as this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the Kennedy Center announced yesterday.
For the past half-century, Simon has been prolific and often produced. Everyone of a certain age probably can name numerous Simon works, as his plays -- including "The Odd Couple," "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Sunshine Boys" -- have translated into film and television and into the national consciousness.

Poet Laureate

There was an announcement today that Donald Hall will be named the Poet Laureate of the United States.

Now I would assume, apart from the fact that I really never heard of Mr. Hall, poetry is just not an arena of attention for most of us. I was surprized to read that the position is appointed annually. I guess that I always thought that once you were the poet laureate you stayed there indefinately until either death or age took its toll. Mention was also made of the fact that there are really few demands associated with the position, it is primarily an honorary recognition, with a yearly stipend and travel allowance attached.

Recent Reading

I finished Children of the Flames this past weekend at the shop. The story of Dr. Mengeles eugenics project based on twins at the Auschwitz camp. Memories from narratives supplied by various of the twins survivors involved were alternated with the biography of the doctor. It really brings back to mind the thought--all that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

I'm reading Florida's Flight of the Creative Class at home right now. He was the keynote speaker at the Indiana tourism meeting in Indianapolis last month but I wasn't able to fit in that trip.

Train Guy is carrying around another Louis L'amour and my brother is working on Shelby Foote's civil war books.

The Independent Bookstore

http://www.slate.com/id/2141725/

Slate reviewed a newly published book that turned into a discussion of the role of independent book sellers. Personally I have a bias toward the quirky used book emporium. One of my favorites is Ohio Book Store on Main Street in Cincinnati, and there is the Dust Jacket in Mt Lookout Square. Up in Wabash, Indiana I happened upon Reading Room Books last summer. All of these stores are probably using the internet for sales, but they still are an interesting experience.

Some of the comments on the Slate article suggested that outside of major areas such as New York there was really little to lament in "fly-over" country, and that the coming of the big box and on line booksellers was actually a blessing. I would have to say that I was appalled to discover that there were no bookstores in existence in Franklin County when I moved here. But Indianapolis and Cincinnati are not that far away.

The Creative Class

I'm about to embark on several of Florida's Creative Class tomes. We're having a public input meeting concerning the state's draft report on Rural Indiana and I think that his work has probably informed many of the committee. Doubt very much that I really get too far before tomorrow evening, especially in view of the fact that my income tax return is still underway.
RISE 2020 is the program, this site should have a link to the draft report.
www.purdue.edu/pcrd/RISE2020

I've been reading an interesting book about the Oxford English Dictionary, still on the historical overview part and haven't really gotten into the OED itself.

Can we come out yet?

There were a couple of days that were warm. There was even one Sunday that we spent the afternoon on the benches in front of the shop. Met some great people from the Eaton area who were scouting a location for their antique auto club excursion this summer.

This winter I finished Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton, much more interesting than the one from last year. More of a sense of the person was conveyed, rather than just the financial strategies. I read this week that Chernow is planning a bio of George Washington next.

I read Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins this week. A fantasy work for the young readers set. A fairly quick read, and appears to be a start of a possible series. Young man falls into another world, seems to fulfill prophecies, completes quest and returns to our world--The Overland. But a hint that he may be returning.

Merry Christmas

We're settling into the winter season in Metamora now. There will only be a few shops open on the weekends for several weeks now. And if we have a snow storm like the one we had last year, there may be no one open for weeks.

Since we live just up the road, Words & Images will be open from 12-5 most Saturdays and Sundays.

Christmas Walk is Here!

Another holiday season is underway in Metamora. We had a relatively nice weekend, Sunday was somewhat dreary and misting rain but temperate.

Currently I'm reading the the Konemann edition of Henry James The Aspern Papers and Other Stories. I'm a fan of the Konemann books, they are "pocket" sized and very well made. At home I'm reading a biography of Antoine de Saint Exupery (just had to go check the spelling on the shop's copy of Wind, Sand and Stars.)

Lately we've had quite a bit of interest in our Little Black Sambo books. We've sold several copies of the new reprint from Applewood books. It's a duplicate of the small format Platt & Munk, which used the same page layout and illustrations as the Lippincott edition. The cover is very glossy, and the illustrations are not quite as clear. Quite a few people seem to offer the Applewoods on Ebay at a premium price while they can be ordered directly from Applewood for around $7. We have some storybooks including the Sambo story with very nice illlustrations by Eualie, Johnny Gruelle and Fern Peat Bisel.

Helped my sister clean out her former husband's apartment after his death last month. She donated most of his books to the Friends of the Lexington public library, a large quantity of some very nice art books and a nice collection of work on music-especially blues and 70's Rock and Roll. There should be some very good values at their next book sale.

Another month rolls around

September is heading out, and the weather had turned to classic fall. Crisp sunny days, cool nights. My brother is coming up from Florida next week and was afraid the heat was staying too long and he wouldn't have any fall color to photograph. We can hope that the leaves start turning now.

Right now I'm reading the Library of America's collection of Edith Wharton stories. I really enjoy the heft and feel of their editions. I also picked up a couple of biographical works on Wharton last time I was at Half Price Books. Maybe I can get to them when the snow flies.

Art shows are still taking up a lot of time, and painting is cutting into reading time. Too bad I have to work for a living as well!

Next weekend is our annual madness here in Metamora--Canal Days. We can keep our fingers crossed that we have weather then like we're having today.

Humane Society Disaster Relief

We'd like to take this opportunity to remind people that family pets have been affected by hurricane Katrina as well. Go to https://secure.hsus.org/01/disaster_relief_fund_2005?source=drfhb4 to donate funds.

Tour de France

The end of the Armstrong Era of the Tour de France. I read in one story that Luke's comment right after this moment on the podium was "Daddy, can we go play now?" Here's hoping that Luke and the twins have many happy years of playing with daddy.

Shop Dog for the weekend

Gryff, the Lil Corgi pup, is shop dog for the weekend while sonandheir visits a friend in Milwaukee. Gryff reports that hanging out with the old folks is pretty boring. And having to deal with all those other dogs at the old homestead is stressful. But he's taking it all in stride. He hears that he should be checking into the Sneaky Pie Brown stories.

Walt Whitman

In the history communique online I found information about a Walt Whitman archive site that is exhaustive.

http://www.whitmanarchive.org

Since Leaves of Grass was first published in July 1855 this year is a significant anniversary and, according to the communique story, has witnessed a resurgence of interest in Whitman.

Great Book Site

I just found a great site for looking up titles and authors. http://www.online-literature.com/

Reading Time

For some reason there seems to be less time to sit and read this year. I don't know if it's the increased pace of the art activity or what to attribute it to. Whatever it is, I'm just not getting much reading done this summer.

In the shop right now I'm working on The Ironing Board by Christopher Morley, a compilation of some of his magazine work. He's an author that I've always enjoyed reading, but definately not a household name. His Parnassus on Wheels and The Haunted Bookshop are probably the only two titles that even get mentioned any more. And then just as novelty items about the book trade.

On the art front. I have work up at Eagle Creek Reservoir for a weekend show. Brother Jim just sent in another box of photos that we need to get prepared for his entries in the Indiana Wildlife Artist show, and I have Open Space (benefiting the RedHawk conservancy) coming up. In August we're setting up at the Art in the Park event in Irvington. In the end of September I'm looking forward to the Postcard show in Rising Sun since they are returning to the paint out format this year.

A Breathing Space

Both 1838 Days and the Hillforest Gala have come and gone, so things are a bit quieter right now. I celebrated by reading a Maeve Binchy this week: Quentins. Not one of her strongest efforts in my opinion. My shop reading right now is One Day at Kitty Hawk, a recounting of the Wright brothers' aeronautical experiments. Not everyone realizes there is an Indiana connection with the Wrights since their father served a church in east central Indiana at one time, they are primarily regarded as Ohio boys.

Lanternguy is reading a Louis L'amour...again.

Thanks to Brian at Monarch Books in North Carolina we were able to order a complete group of the Bazil Broketail books for Sonandheir. His were lost in his fire last year and he was disappointed to find that they were out of print.

Where does the time go?

I finally finished off Alexander Hamilton--Burr shot him and the book ended. Followed by pages of notes and index.

Meanwhile I'm up to about five issues of The New Yorker unread. I signed up for two free courses on BNU, Business Etiquette and the reading group for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I'm not making much progress there either.

Lanternguy is reading Betty Zane by Zane Grey. The founding family of Zanesville, OH presented by the family novelist. We actually have a fair number of people that continue to read Grey's works. Lanternguy owns over fifty of the editions published by Walter Black, and recently we've found there are a couple more out there that we're missing.

Time is also occupied by making clothing for the fast upcoming Celebrate 1838 event that is being inaugarated in Metamora this year, paintings for the Brush with History event that will be benefiting the Hillforest mansion in Aurora, IN.

A 5K to Benefit Kenton County Library

Just ran across information about a 5K in June to Benefit the Kenton County Kentucky Library. Go to http://www.kenton.lib.ky.us/race/index.html for more info.

A Riot of Daffodils along the wall 

Spring is here

The daffodils are blooming their heads off this year.

I just finished Nights in London by Thomas Burke. He strikes me as being one of those rather precious young brits. It was first published in 1915 and the "popular edition" I read was done by Henry Holt Co in 1918 so it's from that timeframe just prior to The Great War. Essays on his rambles through the neighborhoods of London. Without knowing his biography I would guess he was a newspaper writer of the era.

Cousin Amy was here this week and listened to Graham Greene's The Quiet American on tape during her trip down. She highly recommends it, I was surprised to find that we have none of his work in the shop.

I'm still working on catching up with the New Yorker backlog. Almost through Mar 21st.