smote

Does the world really need my creative energies put towards another biography of Emily Dickinson?

We’ve seen crises like this before. They occur whenever an existing operation is pushed too far, into a domain where it no longer seems sensible.

***

...Another sub-theme is that of friendship. A gift of steel kitchen tongs, made by sculptor George Rickey in East Chatham when he's invited over for dinner at John Ashbery's: stylized arms and fingers outstretched in a hug. An ancient paper cut-out with charming garlands and a rural scene, with the words Welcome Every Friendly Guest. An Ellsworth Kelly sketch of a sunflower (the head droops, in a drawing that's masterly and assured), whose recipient writes of how "it encapsulates my love of art and nature and the importance of my friendships." An antique cotton-print "friendship quilt" made up of 41 blocks naming the quilter's friends and relatives. At the center is a tiny hand-written poem:

Forget not ah forget not me
When evening shades descend
For then my thoughts still turn to thee
My fondly cherished friend.