If you’ve ever been asked to write a thank-you note, you know that, paradoxically, it can be one of the hardest forms of writing to do well. In light of that, The Morning News has kindly republished their classic guide to writing thank-you notes, written by Leslie Harpold. Sample quote: “If you want to know when you get a genuine pass on writing a note, the litmus test is simple: Do I live under the same roof as the giver?”
Thank You, Scratch That
Top Five Desert Island Poems
For all you High Fidelity enthusiasts out there: the hidden world of literary record collecting.
Appearing Elsewhere
For those in the Bay Area, Millions contributor Edan Lepucki will be reading from her novel Days of Insignificance and Evil at the Intersection for the Arts Award Celebration tonight at 7:30 p.m. The address is 446 Valencia St, San Francisco, 94103.
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“Perfect translation … is of course impossible.”
Ever wonder how Google Translate works? Now you know. These two pieces (one and two) on Lydia Davis‘ translation of Madame Bovary are worth revisiting, too.
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DFW, Viking Enthusiast
The New Yorker gives us a glimpse of the David Foster Wallace papers just sold to the Harry Ransom Center, including the youthful “Viking Poem.”
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The David Foster Wallace Conference
The Howling Fantods live-blogged last week’s DFW conference at CUNY.
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I have a faith in how it works.
Sheila Heti interviews astrologer Jonathan Cainer about his craft. He tells her, among other things: “So I can’t honestly say I have an intellectual understanding about how time works. I have a faith in how it works.”
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What Should I Title This?
Titles are hard, guys. Over at The Daily Beast, Ruth Bernard Yeazell tries to figure out why so often famous paintings have titles that don’t seem to match up with the work at all. Here are four (4) other pieces on titles — I told you, titles are hard.
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A lost art, indeed.
Luckily, there are samples of whole notes, too: http://imissyouwheniblink.com/2013/01/08/no-thank-you-how-to-write-a-thank-you-note/