August in Review
With all the busyness of this past month, I’ve been enjoying more music than books. Still, “when I have a leisure moment, you will generally find me curled up with one of Spinoza’s latest,” as Bertie Wooster would say—poems by Robert Herrick and a comedy by William Shakespeare, in my case. Old music is good, too, whether the music of Elizabethan England or of a newer classic like Frank Sinatra.
Books
The cheerily-colored volume is a good introduction to the seventeenth-century poet who was called “the sweetest of songsters.” “It is the music of another age, another world,” Scott writes in his introduction, “so superbly written that is moves us; foreign to us, yet not remote; different from any authentic music of ours, yet thrilling still.” An anthology of Herrick’s best-loved poems and epigrams is introduced by a brief biography and illustrated by sparse pencil drawings.
There is some modernization of the poems, especially of spelling. Scott apologizes in his “Preparatory Note” for the rare substitution of a more modern word when the original is “so obsolete as to be undiscoverable in a large dictionary.” A few of the poems are inappropriate because of bawdy or immoral content.
After she is saved from a shipwreck on the shores of Illyria, Viola disguises herself as a boy to serve as page for the wealthy duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with the countess Olivia, and sends Viola to woo the lady for him. But Viola has fallen in love with Orsino, and Olivia falls in love with Viola (believing Viola to be the page-boy Cesario). That’s only the beginning of a madcap series of deceptions, mistaken identities, and romantic entanglements.
Twelfth Night was my first Shakespeare comedy, and my favorite of the comedic stories. This was a fun summer read; I enjoyed reading about the antics of Olivia’s household (especially of the self-important Malvolio) as I sat on a shady beach. This edition from “The Annotated Shakespeare” had too many footnotes for my taste (though nothing to beat those thick Folger editions). There is innuendo and some language.
As Floridian gardeners quickly learn, most growing guides are written for the temperate regions are are of very limited use in our hot and humid state. For a gardening project for my herbal medicine course, I found very helpful this book by resident Monica Brandies. What I found most useful was specialized chapters on growing herbs in Northern, Central, or Southern Florida, and an herb glossary that notes in which of these regions each would grow. This resource may find itself in my own collection!
Herbs and Spices for Florida Gardens: How to Grow and Enjoy Florida Plants with Special Uses. Hank Bruce. ✩✩✩
This was another valuable resource for my project, as I was able to compare and contrast it with Monica Brandies. (It was interesting to note where one author called an herb “easy” and the other “difficult.”) “Herbs and Spices That Will Grow in Florida” are listed in alphabetical order with notes on botany, culture, use, and history. The writing style is very informal (“As plants most herbs ain’t pretty.”) and full of personal notes on what worked for this gardener and what didn’t. Broader application is not always certain; in the introduction, Bruce notes that his book is a “point of departure” rather than a final authority. For one thing, Florida is covered by several growing zones, and I couldn’t find a note saying in which Bruce was growing herbs. Also, there are multiple typos, grammatical errors, and errors of usage. I got a chuckle imagining what might be meant by Florida’s “obsessive” heat and humidity.
I enjoyed this collection of beautiful artwork from young America, from Independence through the Civil War. Paintings and sculptures are accompanied by Pastan’s helpful notes about the artist and his work and the historical context. Frederick Church, Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, and other famous names appear. There are two nude statues.
Library
Music
Second Brother, entranced by hearing the Winter’s Tale Set on the classical radio, purchased the entire CD. His siblings have joined him in enjoying this Shakespearean collection. Do not be fooled by the title and nocturnal skies into believing that this is a sleepy CD. The nineteen track include the quietly beautiful (“Death’s Second Self”), the sprightly (“Ladies, Sigh No More”), and the energetically exuberant (“Rumble Thy Bellyful”). Old music is a growing passion of ours, and we were pleased to recognize the original tunes in several of these arrangements—”Remember, O Thou Man” in the track “A Garden So Green” and “Lord Willoughby” in “Heart’s Ease.”
“The Best is Yet to Come.” I’ve mentioned this finger-snapping hit before. “The best is yet to come, and, babe, won’t that be fine?/ The best is yet to come, come the day you’re mine.” Listen to Frank Sinatra sing this song on YouTube HERE.
“All I Need is the Girl.” Sinatra is dressed in his best-pressed tweed and ready for a night on the town. “I got the time and the place and the rhythm/ All I need now is the girl to go with ‘em.” I love the instrumentals for this one. Listen to Sinatra sing this song on YouTube HERE.
“Cheek to Cheek.” When we’re not chuckling over Ricky Ricardo’s accented rendition of “Chick to Chick,” we enjoy Frank Sinatra’s rendition of Irving Berlin’s swing song. Listen to Sinatra sing this song on YouTube HERE.
Then, later, because I had 97 cents and Biggest Brother had 2, we bought another of our Sinatra favorites: “I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do).” “When I am close to you, the world is far away./ The words that fill my heart my lips can’t seem to say.” Listen to Sinatra sing this song on YouTube HERE.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012