BookWormSat

@bookwormsat

Celebrate literature every Saturday with BookWormSat. Hosted by @signemaene.com and @racheldeering.bsky.social Weekly themes:

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BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 4d

‘In the pewter mornings, the cat, a black fur sausage with yellow Houdini eyes, jumps up on the bed and tries to get onto my head. It’s his way of telling whether or not I’m dead. If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am He’ll think of something.’~ Atwood #BookWormSat with cats for the day. 🐈‍⬛

🖼️ Cat Washing Its Coat, Arthur Heyer. White cat on flower patterned chair as described, window with white drapes in background, painting.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 4d

'as if awakened, she turns her face to yours; and with a shock, you see yourself, tiny, inside the golden amber of her eyeballs suspended, like a prehistoric fly.' -Black Cat, Rainer Maria Rilke @signemaene.com welcomes you to #BookWormSat! 🐈‍⬛Lionel Lindsay🐈‍⬛

Artwork title: The Witch. Wood engraving of a black cat with a flowering branch behind her.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 5d

‘I postulate that cats started as psychic companions, as Familiars, and have never deviated from this function.’ ~ William S. Burroughs. This #BookWormSat wears whiskers for International Cat Day with cats, catting, cattiness and all things cattish in literature. 🐈‍⬛ Do join us.

🖼️ Bacchiacca, Portrait of a young lady holding a cat, c.1525.
The lady has red hair wrapped up in a blue scarf, she wears pearls and a yellow gown with a blue trim. She wears a green and red beaded bracelet and she holds a tabby cat in her arms. The background is a dark, olive green.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 11d

‘Like the old songs they left behind, We hung our harps in the willows again. Ballads of boys blow on the wind, Their blood is mingled with the rain.’ ~ Hedd Wyn @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of a Welsh #BookWormSat

Eric Kennington, Kensingtons at Laventie, 1915
‘Kensingtons at Laventie, was painted by Eric Kennington as a tribute to his soldier comrades shortly after he had been invalided out of the war. Paintings such as this confirmed the increasing importance of the war as a subject for artists.

The painting derives from Kennington’s experience of front-line duties during the bitterly cold first winter of the war. It recalls the moment when his exhausted platoon, having endured four days and sleepless nights in the trenches, with persistent snow and temperatures as low as minus 20C,arrived at the at the ruined village at Laventie, northeast of Béthune.’

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 11d

'I have longed to move away but am afraid; Some life, yet unspent, might explode Out of the old lie burning on the ground, And, crackling into the air, leave me half-blind.' -Dylan Thomas @signemaene.com welcomes you to #BookWormSat. 🎨Anselm Kiefer

Artwork of a man lying on the ground looking at a star-filled sky.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 12d

‘I have been a speckled snake on the hill, I have been a viper in Llyn. I have been a bill-hook crooked that cuts, I have been a ferocious spear With my chasuble and bowl’ ~ Taliesin Tomorrow, to mark the start of Wales’ National Eisteddfod, #BookWormSat will celebrate with Welsh literature.

🖼️ Arthur Rackham
Illustration of two twisted pollard willow trees. Their gnarled trunks and sprawling, exposed root systems morph organically into one shared root base. At the bottom right, tucked safely among the roots and low shrubbery, a group of fairy creatures interact. A small, naked fairy figure sits on the ground with its back to the viewer, closely reading an open book. Next to it, two small elfin or goblin figures with pointed red caps watch on. The background portrays rolling, pastoral fields. A white chalk cliff or quarry cuts horizontally across the distant hillside. Nestled in the valley between the trees and the cliffs are small thatched-roof farmhouses surrounded by fenced fields and winding lanes.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 18d

‘Bon-odori Ato wa matsu-kaze Mushi no koe. ~ Sogetsu The all-souls-feast dance! Afterwards murmuring pines And insect voices.’ @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of a Japanese #BookWormSat 🇯🇵 🖼️ Hiroshige Utagawa

Pine tree, clouds in background, painting.
Reference to poem in One Hundred Famous
HAIKU
Selected and Translated into English by
Daniel C. Buchanan, Ph. D.
‘Bon-odori, the All Souls Festival, is observed all over Japan for
three days near the middle of July. Family graves are decorated,
and food, drink, and often lighted lanterns are placed on them, for
it is believed that the spirits of the deceased return to the old
family home which is carefully swept and garnished. In the
evening at every town and village there is a special folk dance in
which old and young of both sexes, wearing their best clothes or
newly-starched kimono, participate with great joy and abandon.
Late into the night the dancers, clapping their hands, executing
fancy steps, and singing the words of an ancient song, circle
around a central wooden tower on which a big drum beats out
the time. When the dance is over and the participants have returned
to their homes, all that can be heard is the swish of the
breeze through the pine trees and the chirping of night insects.
Sogetsu (1759-1819), a Buddhist nun, has beautifully described
the tranquil sounds, pine breezes, and singing insects in the late
evening after the noisy and long-lasting dance is over’

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 18d

'The old pond- a frog jumps in, sound of water.' -Matsuo Bashō, Translated by Robert Hass. @signemaene.com welcomes you to #BookWormSat. 🎨Ohara Koson

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 19d

‘The world know it not; but you, Autumn, I confess it: your wind at night-fall stabs deep into my heart.’ ~ Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji. This #BookWormSat celebrates Tenjin Matsuri with a day of Japanese literature or literature about Japan. 🇯🇵

🖼️ Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Linked Bridge by Utagawa Hiroshige, painting.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 25d

‘People are almost always better than their neighbors think they are.’ ~ George Eliot, Middlemarch. @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of #BookWormSat ‘s foray into the literature of society. 🖼️ Edmund Blair Leighton

1894 oil painting titled My Next-Door Neighbour by Edmund Blair Leighton. In the foreground stands a young woman in a long, patterned pink-and-white striped overdress over a textured gold skirt with ruffled trim. She wears a wide-brimmed straw hat and a white collar wrapping around her shoulders. She holds a small black dog in her right arm while holding onto a decorative wrought-iron handrail with her left. Just behind her, a young man is stepping out of a doorway or descending the adjacent stairs. He is dressed in a dark coat, brown trousers, riding boots with spurs, and a wide-brimmed black hat. He leans forward with a cane in hand, casting a look toward the woman. This takes place of the stone steps of two townhouses. The classic paneled wooden doors, fluted columns, and arched transom window over the doorway frame the scene.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 25d

'Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets...' -Benjamin Disraeli @signemaene.com welcomes you to #BookWormSat! 📚🐛

Painting by William Powell Frith (1819–1909). Title: Poverty and Wealth. It depicts wealthy people sitting in a luxurious carriage on one side of the painting, and poor people and (barefoot) street children on the other side.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· 26d

‘The world is a looking glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.’ ~ William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair. This #BookWormSat marks the birthdate of William Makepeace Thackeray with portraits of society in literature. Do join us tomorrow.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jul 11

‘But when meadow-sweet, debonair and odorous in amber jerkin, moved graciously to his place in the group, then the play was ready to begin.’ ~ Kenneth Grahame’s TWITW. @racheldeering.bsky.social here for a #BookWormSat of trees and flowers from where you are. 🖼️ E H Shepard

Riverbank scene with ratty and mole, illustration

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jul 10

‘Dost ask me, what this primrose shews, Bepearled thus with morning dews? I must whisper to thy ears, The sweets of love are wash'd with tears…’ ~ Burns This #BookwormSat will explore the literature of native plants from wherever you are. Do join us! 🖼️ John Wainwright

Robin perched on catkinned branch above primroses on mossy grass with violets, painting.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jul 4

‘Go not to the Elves for counsel for they will answer both no and yes.'~ LOTR, Tolkien. @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of a fantastically childish #BookWormSat 🖼️ Janka Latečková

Artwork depicting two Elven figures from the Vanyar, a clan of Elves from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. A figure stands on the left, clad in light-colored robes and a helmet. This figure holds a spear and a shield. A second figure on the right, also in flowing robes, holds a sheathed sword. Both figures have long, flowing hair which. Between the two figures is a stylized, intertwined tree motif. The tree's roots extend downwards into a blue, wave-like pattern. The figures and the tree are framed within a large circular border featuring intricate, swirling knotwork designs.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jul 4

'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.' -J. R. R. Tolkien 🎨Alan Lee

Artwork by Alan Lee. Depicting Bilbo's hobbit hole from up in the sky.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jul 3

‘I don't like the look of it at all," said the King: "however, it may kiss my hand if it likes." "I'd rather not," the Cat remarked.’ ~ Carroll, AIW. This #BookWormSat celebrates Alice’s Day with children’s fantasy literature. Do join us. 🖼️ John Tenniel

King’s row with the executioner, cat in sky, illustration.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 27

‘Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.’ ~ Pablo Neruda @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of a sun-kissed #BookWormSat 🖼️ La Prairie, Gustave Doré, c.1855.

Painting of lush meadow filled with wildflowers and butterflies, a scythe lies on the ground.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 26

'Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come, For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom' ~ John Clare Tomorrow’s heatwave #BookWormSat basks in the summers of literature. Bring sunscreen and a hat. 🖼️ Summer, Maggie Vandewalle.

Painting of tall grasses, wildflowers, pods and leaves. There are numerous species of butterflies, including the Monarch and Yellow Tiger Swallowtail, as well as smaller blue and white butterflies.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 20

‘I set her on my pacing steed, And nothing else saw all day long, For sidelong would she bend, and sing A faery’s song.’ Keats, La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad. @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of #InternationalFairyDay themed #BookWormSat 🧚 🖼️ Frank Cadogan Cowper

The painting illustrates part of Keats' poem, where a beautiful but merciless "faery's child" seduces a knight, leading to his eventual abandonment and metaphorical or literal death. She wears a dress of poppies and kneels in a field of poppies, in the foreground lies the knight in his armour. Behind her there is a body of water abs hills.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 20

'I am the green fairy My robe is the colour of despair I have nothing in common with the fairies of the past What I need is blood, red and hot' -Marie Corelli @signemaene.com and La Fée Verte welcome you to a #BookWormSat with hopefully less bloodthirsty fairies. 🎨Albert Maignan

From WikimediaCommons: Albert Maignan’s painting of “Green Muse” (1895) shows a poet succumbing to the green fairy. Musée de Picardie, Amiens.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 19

‘Faeries, come take me out of this dull world, For I would ride with you upon the wind, Run on the top of the dishevelled tide, And dance upon the mountains like a flame.’ ~ Yeats This #BookWormSat will be frolicking with the fairies of literature for #InternationalFairyDay on the 24th of June.

The Fairy Tree, Richard Doyle, c.1865.

A detailed watercolor and ink painting which features an intricate, sprawling tree with bare branches populated by over 200 fairies, elves, and mythical creatures. There is the Fairy King who is situated on a central branch, he is depicted having his long moustaches combed by several female fairies. In the lower-left corner, a human boy gazes up at the tree in wonder. Each branch serves as a stage for miniature dramas, including processions, revelers climbing boughs like stairways, and various creatures interacting.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 13

‘I should fancy, however, that murder is always a mistake. One should never do anything that one cannot talk about after dinner.’ ~ Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of a 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ #BookWormSat 🖼️ Majeska, 1930.

Portrait of Dorian Gray in increasing state of decay, he stands in front of a red upholstered chair, there are two red curtains drawn on either side with a gilt frame, illustration.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 13

'He skips through the copses singing, And his shadow dances along, And I know not which I should follow, Shadow or song!' -Oscar Wilde @signemaene.com welcomes you to #BookWormSat!

Art by Léon Spilliaert. Description from Wikimedia Commons: Faun by Moonlight" (1900); washed India ink, brush, black chalk, and colored pencil on paper (49 x 63 cm) by the Belgian painter Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946); private collection.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 12

‘You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.’ ~ James Baldwin This #BookWormSat celebrates the month of Pride with LGBTQ+ literature. Do join us. 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Torajirō Kojima (1881-1925), Woman Reading in wicker chair with shelves of books behind and a blue wall, she is wearing a mustard skirt, white shirt with blue tie and collar, painting.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 6

‘The king walks away towards his own rooms. Says over his shoulder, "Call her Elizabeth. Cancel the jousts.”’ ~ Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall. @racheldeering.bsky.social in best tiara for the rest of a courtly #BookWormSat

Queen Elizabeth I
by Unknown English artist
oil on panel, circa 1600
‘This painting is known as 'The Coronation portrait', and shows the Queen crowned, wearing the cloth of gold that she wore at her coronation on 15 January 1559, previously worn by Mary I. She holds the orb and sceptre, symbols of her authority. The portrait appears to have been painted in about 1600, and is probably a copy of a lost original from circa 1559.’ ~ description from National Portrait Gallery.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 6

'For heaven’s sake let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings. How some have been deposed; some slain in war, Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed; Some poison’d by their wives...' -Richard II, Shakespeare. @signemaene.com welcomes you to #BookWormSat!

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· Jun 5

‘The king is good to those who think him good.’ ~ Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall. In honour of Diego Velázquez’s birthday, #BookWormSat will wear a crown and be sitting on its throne to enjoy the literature of life in royal courts tomorrow. Do join us. 👑 🖼️ Self portrait, Diego Velázquez.

Self portrait of Diego Velázquez in black with white collar. He has dark hair with tufts that come out at each side, an upturned moustache and goatee type beard. Cream background, painting.

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· May 30

‘All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea.’ ~ Rumi @racheldeering.bsky.social here for the rest of a Persian #BookWormSat

Persian miniature of Woman with Daf in Qajar Iran, 19th century
Lady with Tambourine

BookWormSat@bookwormsat· May 30

I was dead, then alive. Weeping, then laughing. The power of love came into me, and I became fierce like a lion, then tender like the evening star.’ -Rumi @signemaene.com welcomes you to #BookWormSat! 🎨Antoine-Louis Barye