In My Craft of Sullen Art by Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas would be 96 today. Let's celebrate the anniversary with one of his most exquisitely written poems, In My Craft of Sullen Art, recited by the poet himself.

In my craft or sullen art

Exercised in the still night

When only the moon rages

And the lovers lie abed

With all their griefs in their arms,

I labour by singing light

Not for ambition or bread

Or the strut and trade of charms

On the ivory stages

But for the common wages

Of their most secret heart.

Not for the proud man apart

From the raging moon I write

On these spindrift pages

Nor for the towering dead

With their nightingales and psalms

But for the lovers, their arms

Round the griefs of the ages,

Who pay no praise or wages

Nor heed my craft or art.

 

Statistics Day

Today (Oct. 20th) is International Statistics Day. This is what Monthy Python has to say on statistics:




Well, "telling figures indeed" :-)))

You can find the script of the video here. (well, the first part anyway)

Come she will

Very nice examples of an inverted word order (i.e. "come she will" instead of "she will come") in one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

"April come she will" by Simon & Garfunkel.




Lyrics:

April come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain
May she will stay
Resting in my arms again

June she'll change her tune
In restless walks she'll prowl the night
July she will fly
And give no warning to her flight

August die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold
September I'll remember
A love once new has now grown old


If you do not feel so romantic, but you are interested in strange word orders (and you are a Star Wars fan like me) try the Yoda-speak generator:)

A cafe where you can walk on books

There is a cafe in Manhattan, which has a great design. It has been designed to look like a library that has been tipped over to its side. According to this article, the cafe is near the New York Public Library and it has recently moved to its new location.

A word of caution about the word cafe (or café): In the US, it is a place where you can have meals or ready-made sandwiches, while in other places it mostly refers to a place where you can get coffee, much like in an American coffeehouse.

This looks like something in a lucid dream, don't you think so? :-)

(picture from here)