The Rope (Latin: Rudens) is a Latin comedy by Plautus, written in the late third century BCE. Set in Cyrene in North Africa, it is one of the best regarded of his surviving plays. The story centres on the girl Palaestra, who is in thrall to the pimp Labrax, until their shipwreck off the coast initiates a sequence of events which will reveal her true identity. Read more
A 95-Year-Old Poet Finds Her Muse and Literary Praise 'You Can't Drive Anymore, But You Can Still Write'; Homage to Her Late Son By Lucette Lagnado (1956-2019) The Wall Street Journal Nov. 11, 2006 12:01 am ET SAG HARBOR, N.Y.... Read more
Pseudolus is a Latin comedy by Plautus, originally produced in 191 BC. The title character is a slave whose master's son is in love with a girl who is to be sold to a Macedonian soldier. The play was probably based on an unknown Greek model, and its characters feature many stock types from the New Comedy. Read more
The story of “Lyngheid’s Prize” gives me the idea to name epic treasures as they appear. Thus far, with the intelligent sword, we have five epic treasures. Epic Treasure Location Description Lyngheid’s Prize Throrgardr Intelligent sword Throrgrmir Scepter Throne Room... Read more
Emily Dickinson is one of the chief glories of American poetry because, in her poems, she weds originality of vision with an idiosyncratic style raised to a rhetorical ideal. Her characteristic utterance is the brief lyric, often in quatrains, evincing... Read more
“Where the Great Wyrm’s spawn prowl the tenebrous depths, the Age of Dragons begins.” When dragons learn of the primordial wyrm and her offspring, they come to the dungeon, seeking to fulfill the Wyrm Prophecy. In the Age of Monsters,... Read more
Grace Schulman received the 2016 Frost Medal for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement awarded by the Poetry Society of America. One of the country’s most distinguished living poets, she was inducted as member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in... Read more
I booked a four-way once. I was sitting in a bar when War & Peace sidled up and sat down on the stool next to me. "Gotta light?" she asked in a heavy Moscow accent. "I don't burn books," I... Read more
The next day, Garth’s neighbor came over. Jarrod was a tall, skinny kid. He wore glasses with a cloudy film that made it difficult to see his eyes. When he talked, it sounded like he was chewing a mouthful of... Read more
Thanks to Bob Hass, I'm reading the haiku masters of Japan -- Basho, Buson and Issa -- in one essential book: The Essential Haiku, published by Ecco, with smart intro and useful notes by Mr. Hass. Examples follow. (Translators do... Read more
You voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced! This month, we are thrilled to share that The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett has been selected for the March LibraryReads List! We also have two new additions to... Read more
In time the Throrgrmir dwarves recovered from the civil war. They built a power plant, which drove production higher, and they made a highway, which reached subterranean neighbors to the east and west. Increased communication fostered the exchange of goods,... Read more
These days, going out may not be something you want to do, and even if you can, restaurants on Valentine's day? No thanks. You'll probably both be happier with something homemade. (Your wallet certainly will be.) This year, treat your... Read more
What do I have to say about Yellow Wife? Here, summarized: I… Well… my feels… I just… Wow!!! Okay, wait a minute now! Let me explain my reactions better. Please do proceed by reading my review and I promise it will make sense. Read more
Throrgrmir’s golden age ended when the dwarves woke the primordial wyrm. After the wyrm’s incursion, they rebuilt their civilization in a decadent age, which ended in civil war. Meanwhile, the wyrm laid eggs. During Throrgrmir’s final era, the eggs hatch.... Read more
An outstanding column on Vivian Maier, the little known photographer: https://robertharbisonsblog.net/2020/11/11/vivian-maier-street-photographer/ Read more
The Epistles (Latin: Epistulae) of Horace are two volumes of poems of which the first was probably published in 20 or 19 BCE. They are written in the form of letters, and critics have long debated whether this is simply a literary device, or reflects some genuine correspondence. In Epistle 1, Horace claims to have abandoned lyric poetry for philosophy, and a strong element of epicureanism pervades the work, informing many memorable sayings. Read more
Philip Larkin wrote this poem -- which he characterized as a "cri du cock" -- in 1943, when he was 21: I would give all I possess (money, keep, wallet, personal effects, and articles of dress) To stick my tool... Read more
While the dwarves toiled to rebuild their civilization above, the primordial wyrm lurked below. In deep recesses of her cavern lair, she crept into crevasses and twisting tunnels, which led ever deeper below the sunlit surface. At length she emerged... Read more
At the height of the American Civil War, Walt Whitman spent three years visiting wounded and dying soldiers in the hospitals in and around Washington, D.C. He would bring them small gifts, whatever they most needed or wanted—a pair of... Read more