Casa di Goethe

Located at 18 via del Corso, just steps away from the Piazza del Popolo, is the Casa di Goethe, the house where Goethe spent his time in Rome during 1786-1788. Here, he lived with the German painter, Tischbein. Though most of the displays are facsimiles (originals being located in German museums and other places), it is still a moving experience to wander through his old rooms. One can just imagine Goethe, in his stockinged feet, leaning out the window to look at the street below, as depicted in Tischbein's 1787 drawing! And, they have posters of that for sale (had to buy a copy). In one corner of the largest room, which was Tischbein's studio, an easel holds a copy of the artist's most famous work, Goethe in the Campagna (also 1787), which is very striking, and surrounded by excerpts of Goethe's Italian Journey printed on the walls. There's even a copy of the huge Jupiter bust Goethe purchased while living here. What was perhaps most interesting, however, was to view Goethe's actual books, excerpts from his letters, and his drawings and sketches. Another highlight: Andy Warhol's rendering of Goethe in the Campagna, a visual delight! Here are some photos:

Copy of Tischbein's Goethe in the Campagna (1787), in the studio

Italian Journey excerpt, printed on the wall

Copy of Tischbein's drawing of his friend, Goethe, at the window (1787)

A deep and abiding friendship

Facsimile bust of Jupiter, which Goethe used to pray to each night

Library

Goethe research materials in the library

Warhol's painting, Goethe (1982)

Me, in front of Casa di Goethe, Roma

While I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Keats-Shelley House the other day, I admit that Goethe had more of an impact on me than the Romantics ever did, so visiting the Casa di Goethe was important to me. I was largely self-educated in literature before going back to school, and Goethe's work was some of the first serious lit I ever read--to be standing in his rooms, surrounded by his things (and copies of them), had a bit of a celebratory feel. Now, to hunt down his statue in the Borghese Gardens. Ah, Roma! Ah, Goethe!

Keats-Shelley House

Visited the Keats-Shelley House in Rome the other day. Here are some photos--Keats' death mask, the room where he died (overlooking the Spanish Steps), a bust of Shelley, and shots of the library. It was an amazing place, one which I've wanted to visit for a long time. Viewing Keats' death mask, especially, was a powerful experience. I've a separate post with photos of their graves in the Protestant Cemetery coming in the next post.

Keats' death mask

Room where Keats died

Bust of Shelley

Library of the Keats-Shelley House

Library of the Keats-Shelley House

Reading is Sexy

Just ask Marilyn. Well, if she were still alive you'd want to, because the blonde bombshell was no slouch in her literary tastes. Library Thing has published a partial catalog of her library, and it contains a myriad of intellectual interests--history, philosophy, poetry, literature, religion, politics, and science, among others. I love that she had a fondness for the Russians, the catalog listing work by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Pushkin, and Chekhov, to name a few. Some other heavy hitters for this voracious reader: Bertrand Russell, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Schopenhauer, and Spinoza. In poetry, Frost, Poe, Millay, Burns, Blake, Shelley, Milton, and Shakespeare. There's Wilde, Joyce, Flaubert, Hemingway, Steinbeck.  I could go on, but best you go and check out the library catalog yourself, at the Marilyn Monroe Library on Library Thing. And to all of you detractors, for all of your "dumb blonde" insults, be prepared for a literary bitch slap--I bet your own libraries aren't half as good as Marilyn's. Yeah, reading is definitely sexy, and if you ever had any doubt, this is your proof. 

Thank You, John Waters

Coolest Bookstores and Libraries

Check out this link below to the coolest bookstores around the world.  I'm salivating, here.  One thing that really sucks about living in a small Chinese city is the lack of access to English language bookstores.  There's a big bookstore in town, with a small English-language section, but selection is extremely limited.  And yeah, I can order some books online, and if I'm lucky, actually receive them in the mail (not always the case!), but I miss spending an afternoon browsing among the stacks.  Nothing beats the feel of an actual book in the hands, I say, and I'll remain a purist until the day I die (no Kindles here!).  Anyway, follow the link to see these amazing bookstores~my favorite, Paris' Shakespeare & Company, is in here:

Coolest Bookstores:  http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/shopping/worlds-best-bookstores

Shakespeare & Company, Paris, France

And while we're at it, here are two more links to the Most Amazing Libraries in the World, Parts 1 and 2.  The only one featured here that I've ever been in was at Trinity College in Dublin, where I saw the Book of Kells.  I'd love to visit these others, though:

Most Amazing Libraries in the World, Part 1:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/22/the-most-amazing-librarie_n_432126.html?slidenumber=IvNql0eBitk%3D&slideshow

Most Amazing Libraries in the World, Part 2:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/the-most-amazing-librarie_n_469484.html?slidenumber=GZvrQ1MHPCs%3D&slideshow

I guess I should've been a librarian or bookshop clerk.  In the meantime, I'll just keep dreaming of the day I get to walk into one of these gorgeous places, and lose myself, and all sense of time, among the storied stacks.

Effingham Public Library Reading

Some photos taken during my reading at Effingham Public Library on July 21, 2011.  A quaint venue, packed with a great audience, and a lot of talented poets who took the floor for the Open Mic after my featured reading.  Thank you, to Katie McCarthy & Jim Pittman~glad I was invited!