Second-Hand Glory: Reading Undersong

Kenneth Radu's visit to Dorothy and William Wordsworth's cottage informs and enlightens his reading (and rereading) of Kathleen Winter's exquisite Undersong.

Riding da Riddim: The Culcha Dancehall Clash I, by Maurie Alioff

Reggae music linked up to the anti-colonial, back-to Africa, enlightenment-seeking Rastafari movement that originated in the 1930’s. It became the only widely popular recent music to transmit religious and political beliefs, and many other outgoing messages. Jah-struck roots reggae (or “culture,” pronounced “culcha”) works like gospel music.

The Reford Gardens: The Old, the New, the Secret and the Provocative

What interests me in these gardens is their design and imaginative daring, along with their thoughtful and often playful deconstruction of the garden into its constituent parts. As a writer, I am also intrigued by the power of the language used to describe them. Among the most provocative – perhaps especially for a writer -- is the Jardin de la connaissance, a “secret and strange library” of walls, benches and floors made up of used books exposed to wind and weather – and varieties of mushrooms cultivated within some of the books.

Here is a world première view of Louise Tanguay's new photograph of the controversial Jardin de la connaissance.

To Isaac Babel from his daughter

"Well, here you are at last. We've been puzzled about you for so long; although you left behind much love and devotion, you bequeathed us very few facts." -- Nathalie Babel, 1964