La Folie Baudelaire

In La Folie Baudelaire Roberto Calasso describes the life, work, and world of symbolist poet Charles Baudelaire in terms of an image borrowed from nineteenth century French critic Charles Saint-Beuve: the “highly decorated, highly tormented but graceful” architectural extravagance known as a garden folly. Saint-Beuve used the image to disparage Baudelaire’s work.  In Calasso’s hands…

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Lest We Forget

              It’s Veterans’ Day. Thank a veteran for serving his country. Pray for peace.

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Road Trip Through History: The Battle of Hastings

On October 13, thousands of history enthusiasts from around the world arrived at the British town of Battle to re-enact the Battle of Hastings. (You know, William the Conqueror, 1066, and all that.) My Own True Love and I weren’t there.* Just as well. The weather was cold and wet. The battlefield conditions were so…

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