Posts by Jessica Cline

I hope you have enjoyed reading Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner. Listed below are suggestions of novels, poetry and non-fiction that might also be of interest to you.

Welcome to the third week of reading Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner. As you are nearing the end of the novel and as we just passed the anniversary of the terrorist attack on Atocha Station (March 11, 2004), there are a few themes to ask questions about or consider further.

The author of Leaving the Atocha Station, Ben Lerner, is originally from Kansas and has a BA in political science and an MFA in creative writing from Brown University. He was a 2003-2004 Fulbright Scholar in Spain and he currently teaches in the English Department at Brooklyn College. Leaving the Atocha Station is Lerner's first novel, but he has several published books of poetry and critical works.

Welcome to the Reader's Den for March. This month we will be discussing Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner. It is a novel set in Spain, written by a New York author. The novel follows Adam Gordon to Madrid in 2004 on a fellowship to write poetry influenced by the Spanish Civil War. We learn about Adam's relationships as a poet-tourist-student and his process of writing and self-discovery through experiences outside of his control.

"She saw the moon, she saw the birds, she saw the little shoes, in summer, before swimming pools filled up — strong and empty and waiting"
~from The Shoes

Enter the world of teaching poet and published author Hermine Meinhard. From here, enter your subconscious, and write what you find. Ms. Meinhard will be there to help you along.

Mid-Manhattan Library is pleased to offer a free ten-week workshop with Hermine Meinhard, The Art of Making Poems: Creation and Craft, on Tuesdays, from 4:00 - 6:30 p.m., beginning February 12th.

As the new movie Hitchcock has recently come into theaters, I am reminded of the silhouette so eloquently drawn at the beginning of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Before photography was a household staple, silhouettes provided an inexpensive way to record someone's likeness. And, as with Mr. Hitchcock, a shadow is often stunning in its ability to capture the likeness of a person or to tell a story.

Yayoi Kusama is one of the most famous Japanese artists right now. Well known for putting colorful polka-dots on every imaginable surface, she has also used lights and mirrors to create her artistic environment, and her naked body has been a canvas, as well as a tool for political protest.

Artists are always asked about what inspires them, what they were looking at (reading, eating, drinking, feeling, etc.) when they made this or that piece of art. They often remain coy, not wanting to divulge too much of the creative process, for fear of its ruining the mystery, or muddying the individual's personal interpretation of a work. In spite of their best efforts, the creative process, that window into the unique mind of the artist, remains a fascination for most of us. So, when we received a new title a few months ago, Nomad by Sibella Court, I was delighted to find a designer's travel guide full of color and whimsy detailing the objects that touched the author/artist's 

A recent question at the reference desk was how to find more about the sculpture of the large button threaded with a needle that stands in the Garment District of New York City at 7th Avenue and 39th Street. This query reminded me of a previous blog post I had written on locating information on a specific painting. The process for looking for information on a sculpture or sculptor is similar, but I thought I would highlight some of the search strategies and resources for sculpture that are different from painting.

“The music ceased, the whine of the needle on the empty centre of the record so faint it was hardly anything. Still dwelling in his exile, Florian finished his cigarette and stubbed it out in the grass. The sun was slipping away, the evening light becoming dusky. Jessie clambered to her feet when he did, went back with him to the drawing-room, where he lifted the needle off. In the kitchen he put sausages on to fry.” (Love and Summer, p. 61)

Welcome back to the Reader's Den. This week, I would like to post a few questions for you to consider while reading Love and Summer and developing relationships with its characters.

"Closing the gate again when she left the crab-apple orchard, she slipped the loop of chain over the gatepost. He had a way of hesitating before he spoke, of looking away for a moment and then looking back. He had a way of holding a cigarette. When he'd offered her one he'd tapped one out of the packet for himself and hadn't lit it. The rest of the time he was with her he'd held it, unlit, between his fingers." — Love and Summer, page 54

"On the streets of darkened towns, on roads that are often his alone, bright sudden moments pierce the dark: reality at second hand spreads in an emptiness." — Page 211

Every November, the searches for Stanley Horowitz on Google gain momentum. Horowitz, a poet, published a tranquil 18 word poem in the November 1983 issue of Reader’s Digest magazine, page 109. Some years later the poem was posted to a list of autumn quotations on the Internet, sandwiched between poetry giants like John Keats and Robert Frost, and it has been used ubiquitously all over the web ever since. 

As a former cataloging intern in the Library's Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, I have a great fondness and appreciation for old books with decorative bindings. And, lucky for me, I have a few late 19th and early 20th century books passed down to me from my grandparents. They have a special place reserved in my book case at home so that I can admire their stamped, gilt-edged spines from my favorite chair. Sitting with one of these books in hand transports me to a vision of a woman reading bathed in natural light from a 19th century painting (see Forbidden Fruit: A History of Women and Books in Art by Christiane Inmann, 2009). In other words, it gives me 

Thank you for joining us in reading The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy this month.  Even though we are wrapping up our posts on this novella, please continue to leave comments, ask questions, or start a discussion on Tolstoy at this post.

I hope you have enjoyed reading The Death of Ivan Ilyich.  Please share your thoughts and favorite excerpts about story or Leo Tolstoy and take a moment to consider and discuss any of the questions posted below.

“What if in reality my whole life has been wrong?”

Welcome to week two of the book discussion of The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy.  This novella was written at the beginning of Tolstoy's late period as he began to change his philosophical view of life, which is reflected back in the story as Ivan Ilyich awakens to the idea that perhaps he is suffering because his life was not led with moral focus.

Welcome to the February edition of The Reader's Den.  This month we will be reading and discussing The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy.