Welcome to Litsy!

All is ready for book club supper. A flower theme, of course.

April Reading Stats

Total books read: 22
Print: 7
Audiobooks: 10
Graphic novels: 3
Picture books: 2

Nonfiction: 5
Poetry:1
Woman authors: 16
Canadian: 8
PoC/Indigenous: 8
LGBTQI: 5
In translation: 1 (German)

Goodreads 5-stars: 8

Stunning poetic fragments/essays by an extremely introverted writer, musing about her interactions at work in a public library, photography as a daily practice, and seeing beauty in ordinary things. It‘s in a lovely small format, beautifully designed by Palimpsest Press; make this a gift for someone else or for yourself. If you need more convincing, check out the author‘s blog: http://transactionswithbeauty.com
#CanadianAuthor

To commune with flowers one must know what it feels to despair but not necessarily lose heart.

I don‘t want to unravel the differences between pretty & beautiful & I don‘t want to read the terrifying articles that appear in a google search ‘pretty vs beautiful.‘
If beauty is uncool then pretty is worthy of censure, is the pervasive view.
Oh sure, I say to myself, beauty is a piece of cake, as I understand the most amazing lines in a book of long-lined poetry.
Easy as pie. A piece of cake. A breeze. A ruddy walk in the park, a lark.

An Imaginary System

At the beginning of each year I come into possession of a certain number of extrovert tokens. I need to ration the tokens through the year, until the next allotment. Well before Christmas I‘m running a sizeable deficit. Converting any of my introvert tokens into extrovert tokens is unthinkable; I know I‘m destined to permanent insolvency.

Library Dream
To get a library card one must usually produce identification, including proof of residence. But it is deemed acceptable that a person could produce a large painting to show who they are. The library becomes littered with easels and people working determinedly on their canvases.

And then, Cy Twombly‘s flowers, all the pinks and reds, the density of them. They‘re like clouds. Like weather. Like lipstick.

(Internet photo)

“I want to say winter strengthens me, but I know the grocery store flowers are the only reason that I make it through.”

I photograph flowers as evidence of having cried out. When I read about a flower in a novel or a poem I underline the passage. The abundance of literary flowers reassures me and I feel less nervous about existing.