Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Appreciations: Edward Hoagland, Peerless Essayist With ‘The Reformer’s Impulse,’ R.I.P.

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Ken Burns’ new PBS documentary on Henry David Thoreau will, I hope, earn the great New England essayist, nature observer, and commentator on...

Quote of the Day (Sir William Watson, on April’s ‘Golden Laughter’)

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“April, April, Laugh thy golden laughter, But, the moment after, Weep thy golden tears!”—English poet Sir William Watson (1858-1935), “Song,...
Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Flashback, March 1806: Jefferson Approves Bill for First National Road

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Within a week of it reaching his desk after passage by the House of Representatives, Thomas Jefferson signed in late March 1806 a bill auth...

Quote of the Day (John Fowles, on Why Novelists Write)

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“You may think novelists always have fixed plans to which they work, so that the future predicted by Chapter One is always inexorably the ac...
Monday, March 30, 2026

Quote of the Day (Henry David Thoreau, on Knowing All Nature’s ‘Moods and Manners’)

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“I seek acquaintance with nature to know all her moods and manners. Primitive nature is the most interesting to me. I take infinitive pains ...

Movie Quote of the Day (‘The Bank Dick,’ With W.C. Fields on a Car Chase)

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Egbert Souse [ played by W.C. Fields ]: [ to bank robber, after narrowly missing the police during a car chase ] “Seems to be a great deal ...
Sunday, March 29, 2026

Quote of the Day (John Kenneth Galbraith, on an Ironclad Rule of Diplomacy)

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“There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy, but to one there is no exception. When an official reports that talks were useful, it can safely...