James Schuyler on Frank O’Hara: “I still can see Frank, standing on that street corner outside a pastry shop, holding a neatly tied-up box of God knows what—éclairs, perhaps.”
James Schuyler was born in Chicago in 1923, grew up in Washington, D.C., and East Aurora, New York, and spent most of his adult years in New York City and Southampton, Long Island. Although he is perhaps less widely known than the fellow New York School poets with whom he is associated, John Ashbery, Frank O’Hara, Barbara Guest, and Kenneth Koch, he published six full-length books of poetry during his lifetime—beginning with Freely Espousing, published by Doubleday and Paris Review Editions in 1969—as well as two novels, and a third written in collaboration with Ashbery. In 1981 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his collection The Morning of the Poem (1980). Mental illness plagued him intermittently, and there were times when his life threatened to veer out of control, but friends repeatedly rallied around him, and the years before his death in 1991 were happy and productive.
Javier Cercas on the Art of Fiction: “Hell, to me, is a literary party.”
Prose by Josephine Baker, Caleb Crain, Marlene Morgan, Morgan Thomas, and Fumio Yamamoto.
Poetry by Hannah Arendt, Matt Broaddus, Sara Gilmore, Benjamin Krusling, Mark Leidner, James Richardson, and Margaret Ross.
Art by Ayé Aton and Ron Veasey, and cover by Sterling Ruby.
Charles Quest-Ritson marvels at Friar Park’s ‘Henley Matterhorn’ in the superb Oxfordshire garden created by the late Beatle George Harrison and his widow, Olivia
How to time travel to spring
Now is the time to plan next year’s colourful garden display. John Hoyland advises what to plant and where for best results
Put a smile on your garden
John Hoyland hails a welcome resurgence in the popularity of pelargoniums, a stalwart that lights up the summer garden
Sing on, sweet bird
The soothing notes of Britain’s thrushes have long provided a reassuring soundtrack to our lives. Mark Cocker tunes in
Bravery beyond belief
As the Royal Humane Society marks its 250th anniversary, Rupert Uloth recounts a host of incredible life-saving feats
‘Without fever there is no creation’
Henrietta Bredin examines how the colourful life of Puccini was reflected in the melodramatic plot lines of his greatest operas
Rachel Podger’s favourite painting
The leading violinist chooses an inspiring, uplifting masterpiece with a beautiful depth of colour
Happiness in small things
The challenges facing female farmers in Africa put life in perspective for Minette Batters
The great indoors
Amelia Thorpe has the pick of planters and accessories to make the most of your houseplants
Civic splendour
John Goodall is heartened by the restoration of St Mary’s Guildhall, a symbol of Coventry’s great 14th-century prosperity
The legacy
Kate Green applauds the work of Sir Arthur Hobhouse, founding father of our national parks
Let’s get to the bottom of this
Is it a blessing or a curse to find a well on your property? Deborah Nicholls-Lee tests the water
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
David Profumo is in his element as he teases Atlantic salmon from Iceland’s low, clear waters
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell turns over a new leaf with autumn-inspired jewellery
Interiors
It’s show time! Amelia Thorpe seeks Design Week inspiration
Get your cob on
Prepare to be amazed by maize as Tom Parker Bowles savours those golden corn kernels in mouth-watering Mexican style
Foraging
Do you know a damson from a bullace? John Wright revels in the plum job of explaining it all
The colour revolution
The 19th-century development of new paints was a green light for artists, finds Michael Prodger
Colour vision
Rob Crossan catches up with the most famous and enduring face of our television screens
Experience the marvel that is night-blooming tobacco By Leigh Ann Henion
In western North Carolina, the mountain growing season is short, and autumn is already tossing yellow-and-red confetti against my windshield as I drive the back roads to my friend Amy’s homestead. Curve after curve, I find locust trees that are a few shades lighter than they were last week. Buckeyes also seem well on their way to change. It is now hard to tell the difference between orange leaves falling and monarch butterfly wings rising. The signs of summer and fall, all intertwining.
The Globalist Podcast (September 10, 2024): Turkey will be attending the Arab League Summit for the first time in 13 years. We consider how significant this is.
Plus: we’ll hear about the mpox vaccine rollout in Africa, Germany’s emergency land-border controls and get a round-up of aviation news.
At Tuesday’s debate, Kamala Harris, the vice president, will try to promote herself as a change candidate without criticizing President Biden, whom she has served for years.
With President Biden no longer in the race, former President Donald J. Trump would be the oldest person ever to serve in the Oval Office. But his rambling, sometimes incoherent public statements have stirred concern among voters.
The opposition candidate’s decision to seek asylum in Spain and the autocratic leader’s antagonism toward regional powers lessen the chances of a political transition.
Fugitive Televangelist Wanted by F.B.I. Is Caught in the Philippines
Weeks of tense standoff in the Philippines have ended in the capture of a pastor accused of leading an international ring of sex abuse and trafficking of young women and girls.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
Boomers Daily 