So, this is how it feels to experience a medieval Tuscan village that has existed on a hillside in some form for almost 1000 years! My view from the courtyard of Castel Monastero encompasses a string of buildings that meander along the edge of a quaint piazza. The bricked courtyard is paved in a herringbone…Continue reading The Personality of Place
Tag: poetry
Writing is my brain but poetry is my heart. I not only love to read it; I am relieved when I have the space in my life to write it.
A number of diary entries on The Diary of an Improvateur contain poetry, some written by others and some written by me. I’ll share an example of a post that includes one of my poems in case that entices you to stop by my blog and click on the poetry tag to see others. In the post, titled “God’s Articulate Finger,” I shared “Art:History” from Anywhere But Here, my first book of poetry published this year by Sharktooth Press. I was inspired to write the poem after studying the Sistine Chapel vault and the The Last Judgment, both envisioned and produced by Michelangelo.
The idea for the poem came to me when I saw how differently Adam and Eve are perceived in the ceiling frescoes—God’s articulate finger pointing to Adam as the chosen one a sign. I weave into the post anecdotes about Michelangelo’s life from The Letters of Michelangelo edited by E.H. Ramsden. It’s a slipcovered two-volume set—volume one covering 1496 to 1534 (which includes the four years he worked on the vaulted ceiling) and volume two highlighting the six years he was struggling to realize the altar wall.
Proving that he didn’t believe himself worthy of painting the elaborate project, Michelangelo told his father that the Pope had not paid him for the work on the Sistine Chapel in a timely manner but perhaps it was apropos: “I am still in a great quandary, because it is now a year since I had a grosso from this Pope and I do not ask for anything because my work does not seem to me to go ahead in a way to merit it. This is due to the difficulty of the work and also because it is not my profession. In consequence, I lose my time fruitlessly. May God help me.” I hope you’ll stop by the blog and read my poem inspired by his remarkable work. It’s one of my favorites.
Touching Literary History
I will once again be touching literary history soon, as the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University reopened yesterday following a 16-month renovation to upgrade the 50-year-old building’s climate-control system, expand its classroom space, and restore the landmark to its original luster. The building’s architectural features—an exterior grid of granite and Vermont…Continue reading Touching Literary History
Celebrating Shakespeare
Celebrating Shakespeare The 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death is April 23rd, the date he passed in 1616 at the age of 52 believed to be his birthday. It’s a milestone for which the UK in particular has been prepping for quite some time so celebrating Shakespeare in England has never been easier. But opportunities…Continue reading Celebrating Shakespeare
Reading Dante in Milan
“I’d like that sunny table near the windows under the beautiful mirror,” he says to the hostess at Le Vrai, pointing to the niche set with two café tables, perfect for reading Dante all afternoon. Only a few decades earlier, the waistcoat and watch fob dangling from its pocket would have been out of place,…Continue reading Reading Dante in Milan
Find Your Red Carpet Style
“Find Your Red Carpet Style,” urged Currey & Company’s Brand Ambassador Denise McGaha during a presentation in the company’s Manhattan showroom last week. The point of her talk, When Worlds Collide, was to inspire her audience of design professionals to consider the attitudes that make the fashion industry so dynamic—a timely topic given New York…Continue reading Find Your Red Carpet Style
God’s Articulate Finger
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel In this last entry of the year, I wanted to share a piece of my own creative writing to say ciao to 2015. I’ve chosen “Art:History” from Anywhere But Here, my first book of poetry published this year by Sharktooth Press. I was inspired to write the poem after studying…Continue reading God’s Articulate Finger
Furnishing Pastimes of Henry VIII
As I mentioned in my last Improvateur article presenting a brief history of Hampton Court Palace, I launched into a furnishings fantasy when I heard the narrators and experts interviewed in the PBS documentary Secrets of Henry VIII’s Palace reveal anecdotes illustrating life within the palace walls during the Tudor king’s reign, which included the…Continue reading Furnishing Pastimes of Henry VIII
The Tides In Our Veins
The Tides in Our Veins One of the most evocative trips I can remember taking as a young woman was a four-day escapade to Carmel, California. I was a newly minted poet, or so I thought I could dare call myself such being inspired as I was by my college professors and the heroes they…Continue reading The Tides In Our Veins
The Old Familiar Faces
…I have been laughing, I have been carousing, Drinking late, sitting late, with my bosom cronies, All, all are gone, the old familiar faces… These three lines of verse illustrating Charles Lamb’s feelings of loss for the pals who brought intellectual stimulation into his life couldn’t be more meaningful to kick off this #DesignSalon post.…Continue reading The Old Familiar Faces
The End of an Era
Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern. A voiceover of Don Draper reciting the lines leading this post while thumbing through a copy of Frank O’Hara’s Meditations in an Emergency bring one of my favorite episodes of Mad Men to a close. He’s…Continue reading The End of an Era