On the iPod

O for a beaker full of the warm South -- John Keats

Honestly, I don't have one. But it doesn't mean I'm not listening to music, always. In the truck right now, I've got a burned copy of Texas Worried Blues by Henry Thomas, supposedly "the oldest African-American folk artist to produce a significant body of recordings." With its surprising panpipes, the music is positively buoyant.

When I'm on the computer, I've been enjoying thoroughly other tracks I discovered from the Anthology of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith). You really haven't heard anything until you've heard Charley Patton groan. But, keeping with my current activities and the tenor of the season, I'm especially fond of two songs, jaunty farmers' laments, by the Bently Boys and the Carolina Tar Heels respectively.

DownOnPenny_sFarm.mp3

GotTheFarmLandBlues.mp3

So encouraged by the response to a previous post, I'm asking what are you listening to? Flamenco guitars? 1980's South African protest music? Korn? Sweet mercy, I hope not.

On the Bookshelf

Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are books that other folks have lent me. -- Anatole France

Faulkner, Dillard, Rowling? What's on your nightstand? Your "To Read" list on goodreads? What's stored away, almost lovingly, waiting to be plucked with relish from your bookshelf?

At some point in my life, I must read Moby Dick. Right now, I've got more urgent, educational things on my mind, such as growing the perfect tomato and identifying a squash bug. Spring is a good time for taking on a challenge, for studying, and for kicking up the sediment of winter. To learn is to come alive; to philosophize, as Novalis says, is to cast off inertia.

The following books, I believe, will occupy a predominant part of my life in the next few months. They shouldn't expect a restful place, presiding over the living room from some prominent, decorative position. Rather, a reference guide understand it's no sinecure. And as with any truly great book, wear--dirt, rips, blood--is a testament to value.