A conversation last night prompted me to think about the idea of “favorite” and “best” artists. I try to avoid both terms without significant explanation: the former leads to impossible choices, the latter implies a breadth of experience and judgment I don’t possess. But I can speak of poets whose work most often or consistently speaks to me, as with today’s work. And as with most poetry, but Gilbert’s particularly, slow savoring of every word is important.

WORK

“Islands and Figs”

The sky
on and on,
stone.
The Mediterranean
down the cliff,
stone.
These fields,
rock.
Dead weeds
everywhere.
And the weight
of sun.
In the weeds
an old woman
lifting off
snails.
Near
two trees
of ripe figs.
The heart
never fits
the journey.
Always
one ends
first.

—Jack Gilbert
—from Monolithos

WORD(S)

sippet /SIP-it/. noun. A small piece of bread or toast for dipping into gravy or sauce. A small sop. A small fragment.

“…my sister Theodosia made her appearance, I must say very much agitated and pale, kissed our father, and sate down at his side, and took a sippet of toast—(my dear George, this port is excellent, and I drink your health)—and took a sippet of toast and dipped it in his negus.” (William Makepeace Thackeray)

“These being finely stewed, dish your fowls on fine carved sippets, and pour on your Sweet-Breads, Artichocks, and Sparagus on them, Grapes, and slic’t Lemon, and run all over with beaten butter, &c.” (The Accomplisht Cook, 1685)

“Jesus therefore replied, It is he for whom I shall dip the sippet, and give it to him. Accordingly he dipped a sippet, and took and gave it to Judas (the son) of Simon Iscariot.” (The Gospel of St. John: A Verbatim Translation from the Vatican MS)

WEB

1. The New Yorker has dropped its paywall for everything published since 2007 (until sometime in Fall when a New York Times/Wall Street Journal style system will be put in place). Many outlets are publishing great “read ’em while you can” lists, including Longform, The Awl, Pocket, Slate and Entertainment Weekly (whose list is surprisingly good).

2. Tom Philips A Humument combines the techniques of blackout poetry and drawing/painting to create a new work from the 1892 novel A Human Document. It’s available in print and as an iPad/iPhone app.

3. The introvert/extrovert idea is reductivist and simplistic, etc. But I still want the t-shirt.

4. Check out some extraordinary 1970s book posters by German designer Gunter Rambow.

5. Mark Strandquist asked prisoners a question: “If you could have window in your cell, what place from your past would it look out to?” Then he photographs those places and pairs them with their letters in his project Windows from Prison.

6. Today in 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, Bob Dylan goes electric which [ahem] shocks the crowd. Whether he was booed off the stage or not remains controversial. But you can watch some of the performance for yourself.

REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES ##n

• Reader P, in search of a lost link, regarding the (intentional) lack of a web-archive of this newsletter: “I think the ephemeral nature of no-archive is kind of cool. Just let it stream, catch-as-catch-can.” I’m glad because that ephemerality is an important reason why I’ve chosen this form (not to mention nullifying any copyright complaints, but that’s seriously not the point).

• From reader S: “Petrichor is a delicious word. There is some undefinable solace in experiencing it and knowing there is a word for it.” I wish I had more chance to experience it, particularly this rainy summer. It’s also a word that just feels good to say. Like today’s word, which is doubly tasty but for different reasons.

I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, feedback and all manner of what-have-you. Just press ‘Reply’ or email to: clippings@katexic.com.

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