Backlog refers to the large piece of wood that supports the fire in a large fire place (and therefore lasts longest). In the beginning of the book, Warner expresses his fear that fireplaces are going out of style with the introduction of new technologies for heating homes and that the important things that happen around fireplaces are also destined to disappear, namely conversations with family and neighbors and the contemplation and reflection that fireplaces inspire. The book is a “study” or demonstration of the conversation that fireplaces inspire. Continue reading Backlog Studies (Excerpts)
Tag Archives: Nook Farm
Secret Service: A Romance of the Southern Confederacy
The full script of William Gillette’s play Secret Service is available in eBook format at Internet Archive. Follow the link below to access it. There is also a film version: 1976 PBS broadcast released via Broadway Theatre Archive DVD starring Meryl Streep and John Lithgow, 2002. Continue reading Secret Service: A Romance of the Southern Confederacy
Introduction to “How to Write a Play”
Introduction to How to Write a Play
By William Gillette
The impression has always prevailed with me that one who might properly be classed as a genius is not precisely the person best fitted to expound rules and methods for the carrying on of his particular branch of endeavor. I have rather avoided looking the matter up for fear it might not turn out to be so after all. But doesn’t it sound as if it ought to be? And isn’t a superficial glance about rather confirmatory? Continue reading Introduction to “How to Write a Play”
Glimpse of Hartford, 1868
When Samuel Clemens first visited Hartford in 1868 to see about the publication of his first full-length work, The Innocents Abroad: The New Pilgrims’ Progress, he was still a “special correspondent” for the San Francisco paper, the Alta California. These three letters describe his first impressions of the city, its sights, its industries, and its people. Continue reading Glimpse of Hartford, 1868