Category Archives: Literature

“Now Close the Windows” by Robert Frost [w/ Audio]

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Now close the windows and hush all the fields;
     If the trees must, let them silently toss;
No bird is singing now, and if there is,
     Be it my loss.

It will be long ere the marshes resume,
     It will be long ere the earliest bird:
So close the windows and not hear the wind,
     But see all wind-stirred.

“On this wondrous sea” (4) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

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On this wondrous sea
Sailing silently,
Ho! Pilot, ho!
Knowest thou the shore
Where no breakers roar --
Where the storm is o'er?
 
In the peaceful west
Many the sails at rest --
The anchors fast --
Thither I pilot thee --
Land Ho! Eternity!
Ashore at last!

“A learned man came to me once” by Stephen Crane [w/ Audio]

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A learned man came to me once.
 He said, "I know the way, -- come."
 And I was overjoyed at this.
 Together we hastened.
 Soon, too soon, were we
 Where my eyes were useless,
 And I knew not the ways of my feet.
 I clung to the hand of my friend;
 But at last he cried, "I am lost."

“I shall go back again to the bleak shore” by Edna St. Vincent Millay [w/ Audio]

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I shall go back again to the bleak shore
  And build a little shanty on the sand,
  In such a way that the extremest band
  Of brittle seaweed will escape my door
 But by a yard or two; and nevermore
  Shall I return to take you by the hand;
  I shall be gone to what I understand,
  And happier than I ever was before.
 The love that stood a moment in your eyes,
  The words that lay a moment on your tongue,
  Are one with all that in a moment dies,
  A little under-said and over-sung.
 But I shall find the sullen rocks and skies
  Unchanged from what they were when I was young.

BOOKS: “Sightseeing” by Rattawut Lapcharoensap

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SightseeingSightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Atlantic

This collection of seven short stories offers insight into Thailand and its culture, but the stories are also gripping and clever. It’s a rare thing for stories to so engage with issues such as poverty, class, the refugee experience, the human experience, and foreignness and to still be highly entertaining.

Farangs is about the interaction of Thais and foreigners in the form of a love triangle featuring a Thai protagonist, a Western girl, and the girl’s erstwhile (also foreign) boyfriend.

At the Cafe Lovely is about two brothers, the older of whom takes the younger brother to a “cafe” that is more of a bar with built-in brothel. The story shows the seedy side of Bangkok, but also the bond between brothers.

Draft Day is about two friends, one from a wealthy family and the other not, who have to go to the draft lottery to determine whether they will have to serve in the military or not. This story is potent observation on social justice.

Sightseeing is about a mother and son’s last trip before the mother loses her vision.

Priscilla and the Cambodians is about a Cambodian girl who, in a rough-and-tumble manner, befriends two geeky Thai boys. The story explores the woes of being poor outsiders in a world that cares neither for the poor, nor for outsiders.

Don’t Let Me Die in this Place is about an old American man who moves in with his son and the son’s Thai wife and their children in Bangkok after the man has suffered a stroke and is in recovery. It’s about the old man’s struggle to adapt to a very different life while at the same time coping with not being able to take care of himself.

Cockfighter is the longest and also probably the most visceral of the stories. It centers on a teenaged girl whose father is the titular “Cockfighter” and whose mother makes hand-sewn bras. It’s an intensely psychological work of fiction with some hilarious moments, as well.

I’d highly recommend this collection for all readers of short fiction. I chose it as my travel literature for Thailand (I read a work [or works] of literature from all countries I visit,) but I don’t think one has to have a particular interest in Thailand to find the stories fascinating and profound.

View all my reviews

“A Minor Bird” by Robert Frost [w/ Audio]

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I have wished a bird would fly away,
 And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door
 When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.
  The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong
   In wanting to silence any song.

“Autumn Within” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [w/ Audio]

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It is autumn; not without,
   But within me is the cold.
 Youth and spring are all about;
   It is I that have grown old.

Birds are darting through the air,
   Singing, building without rest;
 Life is stirring everywhere,
   Save within my lonely breast.

There is silence: the dead leaves
   Fall and rustle and are still;
 Beats no flail upon the sheaves
   Comes no murmur from the mill.

“Soft as the massacre of Suns” (1127) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

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Soft as the massacre of Suns
 By Evening's Sabres slain

“The Human Abstract” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

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Pity would be no more
 If we did not make somebody Poor;
 And Mercy no more could be
 If all were happy as we.

And mutual fear brings peace,
 Till the selfish loves increase;
 Then Cruelty knits a snare,
 And spreads his baits with care.

He sits down with holy fears,
 And waters the ground with tears;
 Then Humility takes its root
 Underneath his foot.

Soon spreads the dismal shade
 Of Mystery over his head;
 And the Catterpiller and Fly
 Feed on the Mystery.

And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
 Ruddy and sweet to eat;
 And the Raven his nest has made
 In its thickest shade.

The Gods of the earth and sea
 Sought thro' Nature to find this Tree;
 But their search was all in vain:
 There grows one in the Human Brain.

“Patience” by Gelett Burgess [w/ Audio]

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The clock will go slow
 If you watch it, you know;
   You must work right along and forget it.
 So study your best
 Till it's time for a rest,
    The clock will go fast, if you let it!