Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

  Happy New Year!   Now that we're done with the recent forty days and nights of rain we can enjoy one of life's treats--Autumn in New York. Julia Glass, in her novel Vigil Harbor said,  "October in New York reminds people to renew their vows to stay forever." So let's be sure to take some long walks.  You may remember the architectural tour I posted in 2019,  An Architectural Tour of NYC Here are two great buildings I left out.  If you stumble upon either of these you might think you're not in New York City but somewhere in Europe.   Here's the Old Police Building at 240 Centre Street between Grand and Broome Streets And First Baptist Church, at Broadway and 79th Street. As another way to celebrate Autumn I'm moved to write about my favorite calligraphy ink. It's been my go-to material ever since I branched out from Black and White. People would ask if I ever filled in my black and white drawings with color and no, that really doesn't work; it...

 I'm a month late for his birthday but today I celebrate Maurice Sendak, one of my early idols, author of some of my favorite books, provider of countless happy hours.  Where the Wild Things Are  has been called  " The most suspenseful and satisfying nursery tale of our time."     How many of you can recite the opening lines illustrated here? "The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another, his mother called him "WILD THING!"  and Max said, "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" You know what comes next--Max is sent to bed without his supper and that night he sails off into a great adventure. What song did you and your kids sing for the wild rumpus? After Max has tamed the Wild Things, after the wild rumpus, he feels tired and longs to be "where someone loves him best of all" and so gets up to leave. The Wild Things say to him, "Oh, please don't go, we'll eat you up we love you so." Sendak said he modeled so...

 A while ago I took you on an architectural tour of Manhattan--this will be a literary tour through some of the classics of children's literature. One of the best things about parenthood is reading to children--holding a small person on your lap with a book in your hands is pretty close to Heaven. My favorite place in the world, Manhattan, is the site of many great books--so, put on your walking shoes, pack your metro card and let's go. We'll start at the very bottom--the southernmost tip of Manhattan--the Staten Island Ferry. We were very tired we were very merry. We rode back and forth All night on the Ferry.                                    Edna St. Vincent Millay. Yes, I know, Edna St. Vincent Millay is not a poet for children, but I believe in getting as much as possible as early as possible into those little brains, so this is a good start. Then over to Battery Park City...