February 2009
8 posts
Bookplates
I have always had a strong aesthetic appreciation and respect for the bookplate. I have seen so many beautiful ones adorning the inside covers of so many beautiful books. One silly thing I might spend my lottery winnings on someday may be a specially commissioned engraving such as this one I found in my copy of Huxley’s Leda, a book of his poetry.
This copy was an associational copy because...
Sermons in Cats
This is a memorable essay that came from Music At Night that I have only recently begun to understand thanks to two recent acquisitions to our family brood. We adopted two orange tabby kittens this past summer, each not unlike the one pictured in the above image perching on Huxley’s shoulder.
Strangely it was this advice he seemed proud to impart to a young writer who sought from him the...
Perception and Reality
The opening quote on the title page of “Doors of Perception” contains a profound idea from poet and mystic William Blake. It expresses that there is another way to view the apparent world around us. It is a way that is accessible to our senses if we cleanse our perception to see it plainly. When I was younger and read these verses I used to imagine an image of a garden gate that I...
