literature – Page 23 – kevinwarstadt.com

Quote of the day 11/05/23

From Robert Louis Stevenson: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

Quote of the day 10/31/23

From Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.”

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever read. It’s massive, sprawling, and comprehensive in its coverage of roughly 1300 years of history. The name is somewhat deceptive. It isn’t just a history of theContinue reading “Great Work Wednesday”

Quote of the day 09/18/23

From Douglas Adams: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

Quote of the day 08/04/23

From the Bodhicaryāvatāra: “Where would I find enough leatherTo cover the entire surface of the earth?But with leather soles beneath my feet,It’s as if the whole world has been covered.”

Great Work Wednesday – War and Peace

I was speaking to my brother recently about the great works of humanity, and I thought it might be fun to list out some of my favorite works in posts. This week, it’s War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It’s a massive, sweeping story set in Russia during the Napoleonic Wars. It features deeply humanContinue reading “Great Work Wednesday – War and Peace”

Shall I at least set my lands in order?

Sometimes, when I’m procrastinating, I think of this section from The Waste Land. “I sat upon the shore Fishing, with the arid plain behind me Shall I at least set my lands in order?” As I recall, he’s referencing the Fisher King from Arthurian legend. The Fisher King Perhaps tonight, while I waste my timeContinue reading “Shall I at least set my lands in order?”

Blood Meridian

I was speaking to my brother recently about the great works of humanity. I consider Blood Meridian to be among them. It seems to me to exist outside of time. The intro has been echoing in my mind since I read it a few years ago. In honor of Cormac McCarthy, I include it here.Continue reading “Blood Meridian”