literature

295d

Voices from the Archives: Mary, Burns & Lochhead
29 Jan, Perth. Tickets £8.50/£6

A panel discussion examining 3 manuscripts, each offering a powerful lens on Mary, Queen of Scots:

📜 her final letter, written just hours before her execution
🪶 Robert Burns' poetic tribute “Lament of Mary, Queen of Scots”
⌨️ Liz Lochhead's bold reimagining in her play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off

https://www.perthshireboxoffice.com/whats-on/voices-from-the-archives-mary-burns-and-lochhead

#Scottish #literature #history #MaryQueenofScots #poetry #drama

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1y

"What seems to us serious, significant and important will, in future times, be forgotten or won’t seem important at all."

#OTD in 1901.

Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters premieres at Moscow Art Theatre in Russia under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(play)

Three Sisters at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7986

#books #literature #theatre

The front cover of the first edition of Three Sisters published 1901 by Adolf Marks, St Petersburg.

The cover is typically a muted, neutral color, such as beige or light brown, with black lettering.

The title, Три сестры, is prominently displayed in a classic Cyrillic typeface, along with the author's name, Антон Чехов (Anton Chekhov).

There are no elaborate illustrations or decorative elements on the front, aligning with the somber and introspective tone of the play.

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61d

How we could ever have come to this pass?
Is all we are asking…

“Question & Answer”, by James Findlay Hendry (1912–1986) – born #OTD, 12 September

With G.S. Fraser & Henry Treece, author, poet & translator J.F. Hendry was a contributor to the “New Apocalypse” poetic movement of the 1930s

1/2

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/from_the_line/

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #20thcentury #warpoem #warpoetry #WW2

J. F. Hendry
Question and Answer

How we could ever have come to this pass?
Is all we are asking. Each of our
Bursts of anti-aircraft fire
Hangs a torn wound of questions in the air.

How we could ever, like cattle at grass,
Drift with shadowless clouds, unaware,
Into this era of lightnings and war?
There is no shelter, now or ever, from that answer.

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1y

#OTD in 1848.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto (Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei) in London.

Published amid the Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, the manifesto remains one of the world's most influential political documents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto

At PG.
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/61

#books #literature

A decorative border and ornate text reading "Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei." on darker-than-white paper.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto#/media/File:Communist-manifesto.png

Only surviving page from the first draft of the Manifesto, handwritten by Karl Marx.

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1y

Where to start with: Jane Austen

From sparkling dialogue to surprise character traits, wit, humour and tragedy, this is the year to appreciate Austen

By John Mullan

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/feb/20/where-to-start-with-jane-austen

Jane Austen at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/68

#books #literature

Portrait of Jane Austen, from the memoir by J. E. Austen-Leigh (1798-1874). All other portraits of Austen are generally based on this, which is itself based on a sketch by Cassandra Austen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen#/media/File:Jane_Austen,_from_A_Memoir_of_Jane_Austen_(1870).jpg

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1y

#OTD in 1904.

J. M. Synge's tragedy Riders to the Sea is first performed at Molesworth Hall, Dublin, by the Irish National Theatre Society, with Helen Laird playing Maurya.

Synge's use of phrasing from the Irish language is part of the Irish Literary Revival, a period when Irish literature looked to encourage pride and nationalism in Ireland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riders_to_the_Sea

Riders to the Sea at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/994

#books #literature #theatre

Sara Allgood photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, photographer.

Source: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?van:1:./temp/~ammem_Xnh9:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riders_to_the_Sea#/media/File:Sara_Allgood.jpg

The photograpgh captures the Irish actress in a dramatic and expressive pose. Van Vechten, known for his striking portrait photography, often utilized high contrast and deep shadows to emphasize the subject's character and presence.

In this image, Allgood's face is likely the focal point, showcasing her strong features, expressive eyes, and theatrical presence. The lighting and composition highlight the depth of her expression, giving a glimpse into her career as a stage and film actress.

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259d

Thon tree,
earthfast at the foot
of your Alpine meadow,

dark, with mossy branches,
– apple perhaps –

can you give it a message?
Can you please say spring
will be there soon?

—Kathleen Jamie, “Old Women”
published in THE BONNIEST COMPANIE (Picador, 2015)

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/kathleen-jamie/the-bonniest-companie/9781509801718

#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #spring

Kathleen Jamie
Old Women

Thon tree,
earthfast at the foot
of your Alpine meadow,

dark, with mossy branches,
– apple perhaps –

can you give it a message?
Can you please say spring
will be there soon?

It’s creeping up the mountain
as though carried on an old woman’s back.

When we’re old women
we will fetch spring too.

You know the tree I mean.

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293d

StAnza 2026
13–15 March, St Andrews & online

Tickets are on sale for StAnza 2026, Scotland’s award-winning poetry festival dedicated to bringing poetry in all its forms & many languages to audiences around the world

https://stanzapoetry.org/festival/stanza-2026/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #festivals #StAndrews

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1y

7 Legal Ways To Get Free eBooks

https://www.howtogeek.com/legal-ways-to-get-free-ebooks/

(just skip Amazon for obvious reasons)

#books #literature #ebooks

Reading a Borrowed Book in an ereader

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1y

10 most iconic lines by Dostoevsky that make people sit back and overthink life

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/web-stories/10-most-iconic-lines-by-dostoevsky-that-make-people-sit-back-and-overthink-life/photostory/121135703.cms

Dostoevsky at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/314

#books #literature

Portrait of Dostoevsky by Vasily Perov, c. 1872.

Seated with his hands clasped and gaze cast downward, Dostoevsky appears weary yet contemplative, reflecting the emotional intensity and philosophical depth of his writing.

Dressed in a simple brown coat against a dark, muted background, his gaunt face, high forehead, and unkempt beard emphasize a life marked by suffering, imprisonment, and spiritual searching.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoevsky#/media/File:Vasily_Perov_-_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%82_%D0%A4.%D0%9C.%D0%94%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

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1y

Don Quixote: Was the First Modern Novel Born in Captivity?

The whimsical and idealistic nature of Don Quixote makes it easy to forget that much of the novel was inspired by Cervantes’ incarceration and enslavement.

By Lily Hunger

https://www.thecollector.com/don-quixote-first-modern-novel-born-captivity/

Don Quixote at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/996

The Story of Don Quixote by Paulson, Cervantes Saavedra, and Edwards:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29468

#books #literature

An incident in the story of Don Quixote (1870), by Robert Hillingford.

This is an oil painting by Robert Hillingford, an English artist who specialized in historical scenes.

The scene depicts one of Don Quixote's many misadventures, featuring the eccentric knight-errant and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza.

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1y

#OTD (to March 17) in 1877

Robert Louis Stevenson's first published work of fiction, the novella "An Old Song", appears anonymously in four episodes in the magazine London. It is first attributed to Stevenson in 1980.

Books by Robert Louis Stevenson at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/35

#books #literature

Photograph of Robert Louis Stevenson at 35 in 1885.

Stevenson is shown seated at a desk, writing with a pen in his right hand. He has a thin face with prominent cheekbones, a mustache, and wavy, somewhat unkempt hair.

His expression is intense and focused, with deep-set eyes gazing directly at the camera.

He is dressed in a formal suit with a tie and vest, and his left hand rests on the desk near an inkwell.

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1y

"Hvad skal manden være? Sig selv, det er mit korte svar."
"What ought a man to be? Well, my short answer is ‘himself’."
Act IV

#OTD in 1876.

The stage première of the verse-play Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen (published 1867) with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Christiania, Norway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_Gynt

Peer Gynt at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66239

In Norwegian at @runeberg-org.bsky.social
https://runeberg.org/peergynt/

#books #literature #theatre

Illustration for the folktale Per Gynt in the book Norske Folke og Huldre-Eventyr i udvalg ved P. Chr. Asbjørnsen. Andet oplag. 1896.

The artwork is a finely detailed black-and-white ink drawing that portrays a rugged outdoorsman standing on rocky terrain with two strong, wolf-like dogs.

He is dressed in traditional Norwegian peasant or hunter attire, wearing a hat, thick trousers, and boots.

A long rifle is slung over his shoulder, reinforcing his role as a hunter or traveler.

The background features a sparse, mountainous landscape with minimal vegetation, emphasizing the harsh and untamed environment that Per Gynt traverses.

Edited 1y ago

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1y

The Bloomsbury Group: A Reading List

In 1905, a group of writers and painters gathered in a London home and began a conversation on politics, love, sex, and art that lasted decades.

By: Jenny Noyce

https://daily.jstor.org/bloomsbury-group-reading-list/

Bloomsbury Group at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/975
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54154
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4565

#books #literature

Left to right: Lady Ottoline Morrell, Maria Nys, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell, July 1915 via Wikimedia Commons

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1y

#OTD in 1830.

The première of Victor Hugo's play Hernani in Paris elicits protests from an audience seeing it as an attack on Classicism.

Hugo had enlisted the support of fellow Romanticists such as Hector Berlioz and Théophile Gautier to combat the opposition of Classicists who recognised the play as a direct attack on their values.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernani_(drama)

Hernani at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9976

#books #literature #drama

The "battle of Hernani"

Commissioned by Paul Meurice for the opening of the museum in 1903

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victor_Hugo-Hernani(2).jpg

The painting depicts the famous theatrical and literary conflict surrounding the premiere of Victor Hugo’s play Hernani in 1830 at the Comédie-Française.

This event, known as the "Battle of Hernani," was a clash between supporters of Romanticism, led by Hugo, and defenders of classical French theater.

In the painting, the scene is likely set inside the theater, showing a chaotic and passionate audience. Young Romantics, including artists, poets, and writers, are depicted clashing with conservative critics and traditionalists.

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294d

Niels Fredrik Dahl and “Reality Literature”: Writing to Become Visible to Yourself

What does it mean to write truth into literature? In recent decades, books that are largely autobiographical but also explicitly include fictional elements have become a very popular genre in Scandinavia.

by Linnea Gradin

https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2026/01/21/niels-fredrik-dahl-and-reality-literature-writing-to-become-visible-to-yourself/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01KFJX49SHZWE60334HQRV1RSS&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER

Realism at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=realism

#books #literature #literarycriticism

Ornament from a 1923 magazine.

A pen-and-ink illustration depicting various objects associated with reading and writing:

An open book prominently displayed on what appears to be a book rest or stand
A rolled scroll or manuscript
Other books stacked or arranged around the central open volume

https://archive.org/details/storyworldphotod51phot

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1y

#OTD in 1922.

In a "savage creative storm" of less than three weeks beginning today at Château de Muzot in Switzerland, Rainer Maria Rilke writes his Sonnets to Orpheus (Die Sonette an Orpheus) and completes his Duino Elegies (Duineser Elegien).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnets_to_Orpheus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duino_Elegies

Books by Rainer Maria Rilke at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/846

#books #literature #poetry

First edition book cover of Sonette an Orpheus (Sonnets to Orpheus) (1923) by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Cover of Rainer Maria Rilke's Duineser Elegien (1923)

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1y

"There is not past, no future; everything flows in an eternal present."

James Joyce was born #OTD in 1882.

Together with Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Richardson, he is credited with the development of the stream of consciousness technique in which the same weight is given to both the internal world of the mind and the external world of events and circumstances as factors shaping the actions and views of fictional characters.

James Joyce at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1039

#books #literature

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1y

#OTD in 1920.

Beyond the Horizon, Eugene O'Neill's second full-length play, opens with a Morosco Theatre matinée in New York City, partly as a producer's experiment and partly to quiet the actor Richard Bennett, who sought to play the lead. Reviewers hail the play and O'Neill gains fame. It won the 1920 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Horizon_(play)

Beyond the Horizon at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58569

#books #literature #theatre

First edition cover of Beyond The Horizon.

The book has a simple yet classic design, with an orange dust jacket and black text. The title, Beyond The Horizon, is prominently displayed at the top in bold font.

Below the title, there is a quote that reads, "Can You Recall More Enthusiastic Comment Than This?" followed by a passage praising the significance and dramatic power of the play.

The book cover contains additional text describing the play as an "absorbing, significant, and memorable tragedy" and highlights Eugene O'Neill’s dramatic skill.

Towards the bottom, the author’s name, Eugene O'Neill, is displayed along with a mention of his previous work, The Moon of the Caribbees.

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1y

#OTD in 1852.

Alexandre Dumas, fils's stage adaptation of his 1848 novel La Dame aux caméllias is premièred at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris.

Shortly thereafter, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi set about putting the story to music in the 1853 opera La traviata, with female protagonist Marguerite Gautier renamed Violetta Valéry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_the_Camellias

La dame aux camélias at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2419
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1608

#books #literature

Alphonse Mucha's poster for a performance of the theatrical version, with Sarah Bernhardt (1896).

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1y

#OTD in 1886.

The first performance of William Gillette's American Civil War drama Held by the Enemy is held at the Criterion Theater, Brooklyn, New York.

The play was a major step toward modern theater, in that it abandoned many of the crude devices of 19th-century melodrama and introduced realism into the sets, costumes, props, and sound effects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gillette

William Gillette at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/38243

#books #literature #theatre

Portrait of William Gillette, stage actor

Warner, Hartford - Storms, A. D. , ed. (1901) The Players Blue Book, Worcester, Mass: Sutherland & Storms

He is dressed in formal 19th-century theatrical or gentleman’s attire, possibly including a high-collared coat, waistcoat, and cravat.

Given the style of actor portraits of that era, he have a composed, dignified expression, gazing slightly away from the camera to convey a sense of character and gravitas.

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1y

"There are very few who can think, but every man wants to have an opinion; and what remains but to take it ready-made from others, instead of forming opinions for himself?"

The Art of Controversy, and Other Posthumous Papers (ed. 1896)

~Arthur Schopenhauer (22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860)

Books by Arthur Schopenhauer at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3648

#books #literature #philosophy

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1y

"I know that Beauty must ail and die,
And will be born again, — but ah, to see
Beauty stiffened, staring up at the sky!
Oh, Autumn! Autumn! — What is the Spring to me?"

Second April (1921)

~Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950)

Books by Edna St. Vincent Millay at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/70

#books #literature #poetry

Millay, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933.

She is captured in a three-quarter view, looking slightly to the side with an introspective expression.

Dramatic high-contrast lighting, with strong shadows cast across her face, emphasizing depth and mood.

Millay wears a dark jacket over a patterned blouse, with a deep neckline revealing her collarbone.

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294d

The Untold Story of Selene, Greek Goddess of the Moon

A daughter of the Titans, Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon. She appears throughout Greek mythology in divine wars and torrid love affairs.

by Kieren Johns

https://www.thecollector.com/selene-greek-goddess-moon/

Greek Mythology in literature at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/17235

#books #literature #mythology

Selene, engraving by François Chauveau.

The goddess is shown in flowing drapery, seated or reclining on a large crescent moon, which was her traditional attribute
Her pose is dynamic and graceful, with arms raised in a classical manner
A sleeping figure, likely Endymion, the handsome shepherd or astronomer with whom Selene fell in love according to Greek mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selene#/media/File:S%C3%A9l%C3%A9n%C3%A9.jpg

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295d

Grains of sand prove people – not glaciers – transported Stonehenge rocks

Ask people how Stonehenge was built and you’ll hear stories of sledges, ropes, boats and sheer human determination to haul stones from across Britain to Salisbury Plain, in south-west England.

by Anthony Clarke and Chris Kirkland

https://theconversation.com/grains-of-sand-prove-people-not-glaciers-transported-stonehenge-rocks-271310

Stonehenge at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/12218

#books #literature #geology

Stonehenge. As painted by John Constable, 1835.

The most striking feature is the turbulent, stormy sky with sweeping dark clouds, rays of light breaking through, and possibly a rainbow.

The ancient sarsen stones and trilithons are shown in their weathered, partially ruined state.

A large fallen lintel stone lies in the foreground, emphasizing the monument's age and decay.

Tiny figures near the stones provide scale and emphasize the monument's monumentality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#/media/File:Constable_-_Stonehenge,_1629-1888,_2006AK8142.jpg

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