Jan

Whilst Reading

Art I Love

Whilst Reading: A Portrait of Sofia Kramskoya, the Painter’s Wife (Ivan Kramskoi, 1866) “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” — Oscar Wilde © Jan McClintock of We Need More Shelves

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Editing the Classics

Just a quick link to Abbeville Manuel of Style blog, where they have had a feature called “Editing the Classics.” The challenge is to whittle away at a famous passage while still keeping the foundation intact, of course. Very enjoyable for minimalists like me, I have to admit. Here is the Gettysburg Address entry, which

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Clipper ship

Sail Away

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain © Jan McClintock of We Need More Shelves

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I write simply.

I was not a literary major, as anyone who is reading this might gather. I have not had the privilege of a traditional classical education. I am widely read and have loads of life experience, but that doesn’t make for sophisticated narrative.My training was exactly the opposite, actually. I was an interpreter, reporter and editor

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