Continuing Ed

On the train into work this morning, I finished reading A Nest of Ninnies, by American poets John Ashbery and James Schuyler. I chose this read while trolling the bookstore because the title caught my eye and the first line, "Alice was tired," my interest, not knowing it holds a place of some significance in American literature. Early in their illustrious careers the authors began writing this book just for fun, and did so with each writing a sentence or paragraph at a time. This style makes for abrupt changes in direction in this essentially plotless novel, which I actually enjoyed amidst the chatter of a cast of cliched suburbanites and the musings of their vapid lives.

This was one of those books that once I finished reading, now come across references to seemingly everywhere - in books, magazines, on the radio. I'm exhilarated in that moment of recognition: "Fabulous, I actually know what they're talking about!", but it also reminds me of the infinite still to learn. Because for every one connection I am able to make, there are a thousand that I cannot identify, making the accomplishment of reading this book akin to one, maybe two, drops in the bucket.

In between the pretty pictures in House Beautiful and Vogue is my long-standing subscription to The New Yorker magazine. Being a weekly publication, it keeps me on my toes with its in-depth articles, poetry, humor and fiction. I love the quality of journalism it puts forth, but it is definitely a periodical where various people, places and things are referenced unabashedly and in a way that says unequivocally, "You should already know this."  I wish there was a checklist, something similar to those must-read lists at the bookstore, that would lay out Stuff You Really Must Know. To help me separate the wheat from the chaff, what I need to know now, what I should have already learned and what I can put off to middle-age. And where does spending various Saturdays hypnotized by "Law and Order" marathons fit into all this?


P.S. When I arrived at work this morning, someone had written "A [insert drawing of flower] 4 U!" on the whiteboard outside my office. Is it from a student, a stranger, a secret admirer? Whomever, I loved it! It made me smile amidst the talk of falling endowments, departmental turf wars and missed drop/add dates that usually greets me. Happy Friday!