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The Covetous Knight by Alexander Pushkin
I finished reading The Covetous Knight (1830), a short play by Alexander Pushkin, translated by A. F. B. Clark. I subsequently learned that Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote a one act opera known as The Miserly Knight based closely on Pushkin’s text. The plot is simple and focuses on the avarice of an elderly baron and his…
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Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Here is a book jot from December 2021: I just finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958). The story narrates the life of Okonkwo, a prominent member of an Ibo clan in Nigeria. The story is deftly told in a fluid and unadorned style with a finely-crafted, objective voice. There is a strong…
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Jean-Leon Huens
I was curious about the cover art for the Prydain books I mentioned in the previous post. I have loved these pictures ever since I first saw them as a child. The art is evocative and beautiful. I wondered who the artist was, so I looked around online. The artist’s name is Jean-Leon Huens. I…
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The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
When I was in elementary school, I read the novel The High King by Lloyd Alexander. I loved it! I remember making a board game based on the story on a big sheet of posterboard. I really hadn’t read anything like it before. It was epic and exciting, with memorable characters and important insights into…
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The Father by August Strindberg
Book jot from November 2021: I just finished reading The Father by August Strindberg (1887), a three act play. It is a psychological page-turner (if that can be said of a play), centered on the relationship between a husband and wife and the growing conflict over the future of their daughter. In the ensuing strife,…
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“By teaching, we learn”
After trying for awhile, without a great deal of success, to practice Latin on my own, I decided to start taking weekly Latin lessons from an online teacher. It’s been a little over three months of lessons now, and I am really, really enjoying it. It helps that I have a fantastic teacher. She is…