Despite the rain outside, I can hear birds in the trees nearby. A few minutes ago, I spotted a stinkbug on my pillow, which I proceeded to pick up with a tissue and promptly flush down the toilet. That makes about thirty stinkbug casualties courtesy of me. I expect their entrance into my room has something to do with escaping the rain.
I can't really blame them. I don't like the rain much, either. All the rain is really good for is an excuse to stay inside and read a book. Today, my Jane Austen class was spent in the library where we researched topics concerning the historical context of Jane Austen and her writing. Last semester, for 19th Century Women Writers, I talked about the postal system and pulled most of my information from a book titled What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist -- the Facts of Daily Life in 19th-Century England. The book is fairly useful in exactly what its title suggests, but when I searched for my current topic of choice, there was nothing to be found in the book.
This time around, my research focuses on writing implements and accessories for the time. I was inspired by the importance of Jane Austen's writing desk from her father. In addition to this, as I mentioned in a recent post, I adore stationery and pens. Apparently, fountain pens were invented around the time of Jane Austen (early 1800s), but aside from this, there is little information available. The university library owns some materials in special collections and I've been told that, if I make an appointment with the woman who cares for these documents and books, I will have access to them for a brief time. I am hoping to make an appointment for this Friday, but it might be too late to make the appointment.
While I was searching for books on paper and pens and other writing paraphernalia, I came across the library section of the library. There is a reason I avoid going to the library: everything looked so wonderful and interesting. Ultimately, I decided to take out three books about libraries and found nothing useful that I could take out regarding writing implements. The three books I did checked out are Something Funny Happened at the Library: How to Create Humorous Programs for Children and Young Adults, Sacred Stacks: The Higher Purpose of Libraries and Librarianship, and The Story of Libraries: From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age. I'm sure as I read these books, I'll be commenting on them in my blogs and, perhaps, writing full-fledged review and considerations of the texts.
While we're on the subject of books and writing and the 19th Century, perhaps I should tell you a little bit about my favorite poem. I believe I was first introduced to my favorite poem through the Anne of Green Gables miniseries starring Megan Follows. In the second set of the series, Anne recites "The Highwayman" to a group of people. The poem, written by Alfred Noyes and released in 1906 (yeah, okay, not 19th Century, but the content and style is very 19th Century), recounts the story of a love triangle in which there's R/romance abound. What I love about this poem is how easily the rhymes and rhythm flows. Noyes is able to capture both beautiful language and imagery in the poem which, if you've ever tried to write a poem, you know can be distressingly difficult. Although the poem does not feature any particularly fantasy-like elements (aside from the ghosts at the end, which I feel is pretty standard in this kind of literature), there is something eerily fantastical about it.
Although the poem is not scary, it's really the perfect thing to read on Halloween. Or Valentine's Day. Or Christmas. Hell, you could read it for Independence Day -- the shots and the fireworks are nearly the same thing. The poem is so specific yet so applicable to every time that you can't help but love it. I'll post a link below so you can read it yourself.
Despite the awesomeness of this poem (and its popularity), it's difficult to find good film and prose adaptations. I have considered writing a screenplay of it myself but, not having the access to Hollywood or the connections to get access, I'm afraid it would be wasted. Of course, there's nothing wasteful about writing something for yourself, but I would love to see this thing go far. And who knows, maybe it will.
For now, I'll just read about libraries while the rain drops throw themselves against my window like suicidal birds.
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