My Cup Runneth Over

Unafraid of Virginia Woolf: The Friends and Enemies of Roy Campbell by Joseph Pearce  (Author)

Roy Campbell (1902-57) led an unquiet life marked by numerous affairs (both real and imagined), brawls (he once attacked Stephen Spender on stage during a poetry recital), and assorted stunts (with the help of Dylan Thomas, he once ate a vase of daffodils in celebration of St. David's Day). It was also marked by numerous scandals, often concerning Campbell's relationship with Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury group, about whom he remarked in "The Georgiad": "Hither flock all the crowds whom love has wrecked / Of intellectuals without intellect / And sexless folk whose sexes intersect...."
Capturing the imagination of the English intelligentsia with his romantic background and controversial style, Campbell was acknowledged as one of the finest poets of his generation. Joseph Pearce's biography vividly recounts the story of Campbell's wonderfully romantic life, including his youth in South America, his dangerous sojourn in revolutionary Spain during World War II, the literary friendship he forged with figures such as C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, and the Sitwells, and his and his wife Mary's eventual conversion to Roman Catholicism. In Pearce's judgement, Campbell's poetry was "both perplexing and challenging - yet no more so than the poet himself." – Amazon.

Four Screenplays of Ingmar Bergman: Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Magician by Ingmar Bergman

TABLE OF CONTENTS: * Preface by Carl Anders Dymling, Ingmar Bergman's Producer -- * Introduction: Bergman Discusses Film-making -- 1.) Smiles Of A Summer Night -- 2.) Seventh Seal -- 3.) Wild Strawberries -- 4.) Magician - The Face -- * A Chronology of Films Directed by Ingmar Bergman -- * Major Prizes Won by Bergman Films.

It could be argued in this day of readily available personal copies of films that books of screenplays are a superfluous thing of the past. However, there is something to be said for the revelations of authorial intent that are described in Bergman's scripts, and for the slowed-down analytical scrutiny that can be made while reading instead of watching. My brother John once had a copy of this book, and I am glad to now have one of my own.

 Adventure Time: The Enchiridion and Marcy's Super Secret Scrapbook

“This book is great. This is the Enchiridion from Adventure Time and Marceline the Vampire's Scrapbook. The book was bigger than I thought it would be which is an enjoyable surprise. It is about double the size of the Adventure Time Encyclopedia (to which this book is a great companion) and I like that half of the book is the Enchiridion and the other half (just flip the book over) is Marceline’s Scrapbook. Both halves of the book get a good number of pages to impress and expand on the ever-growing world of Ooo.

“I like all the detail; you can tell this was made with love by fans of the show. It is written by Martin and Olivia Olson who both play characters on Adventure Time. Olivia plays Marceline. There are cool little things like taped-down pieces, and tons of little scribbles and sketches. I really like the parchment-style scrolls and spell sections in the Enchiridion and the hand-drawn sketches in the Scrapbook. This book is really great for the price … a wonderful book for any fan of Adventure Time and can be appreciated by anyone of any age. The Adventure Time Enchiridion and Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook is mathematical, and you have to get it. FULLY RECOMMENDED.” – Graham Swearingen, Amazon review [slightly edited].

I got the Roy Campbell biography and the Bergman screenplays in the mail yesterday, but most of my time was occupied with first preparing for and then enjoying a combined birthday party and family get-together for two of my nephews. I made cupcakes and hot cheese dip, and there were grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. There was gift-giving and swimming in the pool and then a Scategories game tournament (in which the boys' team won, for once). I was far too busy to post anything. Then The Enchiridion came this morning. I'm of course still working on A Mirror of Shallot and haven't read (or re-read, as the case may be) any of these new acquisitions from the Wish List just yet, so I present these, as it were, potted reviews. I am well supplied for summer reading right now!