Sunday, January 11, 2009

all manner of things shall be well

On Thursday I’m off to my mother’s for a week. For an ex-pat this means being “close” to the inauguration, even though I’ll be states away. Somerset County, NJ is near enough for me, closer than Old Europe anyway. I was sorry not to have gone over for election night. Really sorry. Even some Germans seemed sorry. The next day my neighbor told me it was hard not to break into tears during Obama's Hyde Park speech. (Actually it was impossible.)

Six books are waiting for me on my mother’s desk:
Today I Wrote Nothing: The Selected Writing of Daniil Kharms
Country Music: Selected Early Poems by Charles Wright
All Shall Be Well; And All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well by Tod Wodicka
Like You’d Understand Anyway by Jim Shepard
Do Not Awaken Them with Hammers by Lidiya Dimkovska
Wallace Stevens: Words Chosen out of Desire by Helen Vendler

3 comments:

Ron. said...

These shores are lucky to have you.

Anonymous said...

i am sure your mother needs another daughter, right? i mean. with books like those, i need another mother, you know?! just to think of you on my seaboard makes me shivery. *wheee*

SarahJane said...

it would be nice if my mother had picked these books out for me, but no; she's usually recommending books like The Kite Runner and Wally Lamb and Ann Patchett. She tries but it's often no cigar. She did leave The White Tiger here at Christmas, which was pretty good.

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