On the Common 132

Many waters and new leaves.

Hello everyone,

Last week I worked a conference at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Have you been there? It both amazes me and gives me a headache. It seems to have everything and yet it’s hard to find anything. Everything is close and far away at the same time. Truly, it is a wonder of engineering.

One of the features of the hotel is a river (yes, I said a river) in which the waters of the earth were “blended.” Water from over seven hundred sites around the world has been mixed into the river inside the hotel. And there among the mighty Pacific, the Mississippi, and Victoria Falls, was Trout Brook, the tiny brook and pond in Holden, Massachusetts, where I was baptized at the age of fifteen:

A mighty honor for the lowly.

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The Part Where There’s an Essay: Barbara Cooney Paints Her World

Last week I published a book review at Story Warren about Waxwing Press’ new book: Because Barbara. An excerpt:

Mackenzie’s book traces Cooney’s life from early childhood, when Barbara was a girl in New York City, to her adulthood, spent on the shores of Maine. We see Barbara dabble in painting all her life, initially inspired by her mother’s example. Cooney’s artistic pursuits increased substantially as she got older—perhaps a reminder for us mothers, as Cooney kept plenty busy with four adventurous children! Once the children were grown, Cooney undertook what she believed to be her greatest illustrative works, beginning with my favorite title, Miss Rumphius.

Read the whole thing here.

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For the Anglophiles

Last year I brought you the story of the Sycamore Gap tree, which was felled overnight by vandals. The loss was felt deeply by many. Last month rangers reported the happy news that the tree is sprouting new leaves.

Jason Lock/National Trust

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Reads & Listens of the Week

A couple of weeks ago we finally watched the movie 1917, which was hailed as revolutionary when it debuted in 2019. The film is uniquely written and directed to resemble two continuous shots. It’s a good war story and a significant accomplishment of filmmaking.

Here are some suggestions for Welcoming Hobbit season. (September is the beginning of Hobbit season, or didn’t you know?)

Story Warren also carried my Book Basket for September. If you missed it, here you go!

If you run around with people who went to seminary, you’ve probably heard this debate more than once. How do you pronounce “Augustine”? This person on Twitter spent a very long time settling the matter. “It should be remembered that the issue is one of grammar, and not one of eternal happiness.”

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My arms are too short to box with God. -Johnny Cash