Category Archives: Books and Culture

Henry James’s Roman ruins

Posted on October 21, 2016 by David Brussat

As we saw in his novel The Princess Casamassima, Henry James indulges himself in his descriptions of cities. In Daisy Miller, he describes the ruin of the Palace of the Caesars, and the Colosseum, in Rome: A few days after … Continue reading →

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Kafka on China’s Great Wall

Posted on October 17, 2016 by David Brussat

Even though I did a post not long ago on the Great Wall of China – linking to magnificent photographs on the website Kuriositas – I lack the knowledge to assess the comments by Franz Kafka on this subject. Kafka … Continue reading →

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Hark, a noble local Nobel!

Posted on October 5, 2016 by David Brussat

Congratulations to Brown University for the Nobel won by one of its physics professors, Michael Kosterlitz. Moreover, congrats to Kosterlitz himself. His Nobel threw me for a loop. It was, I thought, for a discovery in topography, as if he’d … Continue reading →

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Mixing work with pleasure

Posted on September 5, 2016 by David Brussat

It is Labor Day, so permit me to combine work with pleasure. What follows are lines from the experience of the bastard London bookbinder Hyacinth Robinson, who has just signed on to a vague role in a hazy future socialist … Continue reading →

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“Rear Window” trailer trash

Posted on August 30, 2016 by David Brussat

Here is a marvelous set of factoids from the website Mental Floss, called “12 Thrilling Facts about ‘Rear Window,” the 1954 movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, who investigate a murder through his rear window. And I will assure … Continue reading →

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‘Lost Providence’ and readers

Posted on June 18, 2016 by David Brussat

In this digital age, with its mobility and its easy interactivity, I have been trying to imagine how to get readers of this blog interested in helping me write my book Lost Providence, an initiative just now under way. It … Continue reading →

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Why art is not progressive

Posted on June 9, 2016 by David Brussat

William Hazlitt, the British essayist and critic of the early 19th century, wrote “Why the Arts Are Not Progressive” for the Morning Chronicle, of London, in 1814. He argues that science is progressive but art is not: What is mechanical, … Continue reading →

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Our buildings, our selves

Posted on June 6, 2016 by David Brussat

Ann Sussman, author with Justin Hollander of Cognitive Architecture, has an article in Planning magazine, “Planning for the Subconscious,” that suggests that the millennia-long evolution of how we shape buildings and places placates the inner urges of our minds and … Continue reading →

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Shubow’s fine Bulfinch talk

Posted on June 1, 2016 by David Brussat

Justin Shubow’s recent talk in Boston, the first annual Bulfinch Awards Lecture, was delivered in the afternoon before that evening’s gala, thrown by the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art to celebrate the eight Bulfinch … Continue reading →

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Shots of first full WaterFire

Posted on May 29, 2016 by David Brussat

Last night was the first full WaterFire of the season here in Providence. I generally visit rather late, when the crowds have drawn down and parking is easy, well, easier. The lead-off photo above, taken by WaterFire volunteer photographer Jim … Continue reading →

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