Book Crush: Persephone Press

I have a new book crush {do you get book crushes?}. Persephone Press is a London-based press that specializes in neglected and relatively unknown female prose and fiction writers from the 19th and 20th centuries. Their selection of titles is like a treasure chest of forgotten literary jewels. And each book is like a little piece of art work unto itself. The jackets are all the same from the outside -- a lovely understated gray, with classic cream labels. But, the interior of each title features a design that evokes the time and place of the words inside: Victorian, Art Nouveau, modern, etc. I want to read every single book in their catalog, from beginning to end...you know, in all my spare time...*wink*

::Check out their lovely online shop here. They provide a brief biography for each of their fascinating authors, as well!

Blog it Forward: What Inspires Me?

French fashion bloggers! Pandora and The Cherry Blossom Girl use fashion as an expression of their love of history, art, and their beautiful city -- Paris.

It's time for the "Blog it Foward Mashup." This project was started by the talented San Francisco Girl by the Bay as a way for bloggers to share what inspires them. It's a bit like a chain letter for blogs, and today it's my turn. Check out the links at the end of this post to see who is coming up next...I'm pretty sure you'll be addicted {like I am!}. Or, you can find your favorite bloggers on the full schedule here.

Traveling to strange, out-of-the-way destinations. I've visited some bizarre places, like the Surrealist Folly Gardens in Xilitla, Mexico, and the desert art communes in Marfa, Texas, but there are so many unusual spots I'm dying to explore: the Absinthe Museum in New Orleans and the Seti satellites in Puerto Rico are at the top of my list.

Strong, eccentric women with a flare for the dramatic. Tilda Swinton is always unflinchingly original {left, dressed as the Marchessa Casati}, and Anais Nin lived a life more fascinating than even her books reveal.

Art, both new and old. The brilliant Hayv Kahraman is a recent discovery {left} and decadent artist Aubrey Beardsley is an obsession that will never fade...

Books that move, challenge, disgust, and inspire in equal parts... these are two books that changed my perception of literature forever.

Eating...and cooking: the ultimate creative act. It inspires and nourishes. Since discovering my love for cooking, I have come to realize that making food can be as fulfilling {and filling} as making art...corny but true. {Images via Canelle et Vanille}.

Vintage magazines and vintage advertising. I would wallpaper my apartment with vintage ads if I could! I think vintage ad designers are truly forgotten artistic geniuses...

What inspires you, dear readers??

And coming up in the Blog it Forward Mash-up:

• not your average ordinary 3/3 • occupation housewife 3/4 • oh hello! 3/5

• oh, hey great 3/8 • oh, mishka 3/9 • oh so beautiful paper 3/10

• old sweet song 3/11

The Crisis Magazine

Just thought I'd share a bit about a new project we are starting at my other-other-other job at the Modernist Journals Project: we have begun digitizing early issues of The Crisis magazine, which was published in association with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People {starting in 1910}. The magazine was edited by the brilliant W.E.B. DuBois, author of the The Souls of Black Folk. Du Bois campaigned against racism, lynching, and segregation in the U.S., and the magazine takes up these topics, as well as addressing women's rights, democratic ideals, and fair access to education. For me, the visual elements are always as interesting {if not more} than the writing, so I thought I would share some of the early covers with you...the ones from the 20's are incredible, and you can really see the African/Egyptian influences on the art from that period. I'm looking forward to browsing some of the earlier issues, as well -- most of which have been hidden away in archives for decades!

::P.S. The Crisis Magazine is still being published today -- more than 100 years after it began! Check it out here.

The List: Erotic Poetry

And down his mouth comes to my mouth! and down
His bright dark eyes come over me, like a hood
Upon my mind! his lips meet mine, and a flood
Of sweet fire sweeps across me, so I drown
Against him, die, and find death good.

~D.H. Lawrence

What better time to indulge in a bit of erotic-love poetry than Valentine's Day? I've always been drawn to poets who are able to turn the most carnal, bodily aspects of love into something utterly transcendent. Historically, erotic poetry has been able to stay under-the-radar and escape censorship in the western world, even when its contents were graphically sexual. Unlike the novel, which has seen its fair share of censoring, poetry seems to quietly evade accusations of pornography. I recently learned that beat poet Allen Ginsberg's 1956 poem "Howl" was one of the only poems brought to trial in the U.S. for obscenity. The charges were dropped, because the judge decided the poem had "redeeming social importance." How fascinating to think that what one person considers smut, another person considers an important expression of very human experiences...

::Here are some of my favorite erotic poems/poets, and while they certainly seem tame to us today, they still manage to speak to us in a beautifully carnal way!

• Charles Algernon Swinburne's decadent "Love and Sleep."
• The erotic lyrics of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho.
• Walt Whitman's virile "I Sing the Body Electric."
• D.H. Lawrence's sexy, rustic "Love on the Farm" {one of my all-time favorites}.
• ee cumming's ode to the act of love: "i like my body when it is with your body."
• The lesbian lyrics of {two women lovers with one name} Michael Field.
• The desperate longing of the late Victorian poet Charlotte Mew.

**What are some of your favorite love/erotic poems?? Why not have a private poetry reading...just you and your honey??

Happy Weekend of Love, my Dears!

A Friend Who "Feels" You

Reading Daniel J. Siegel's inspiring new book Mindsight, I was struck by his notion that "feeling felt" emotionally by another person is crucial for healthy childhood and adolescent development. Everyone has their share of difficulties growing up {some more than others}, but Siegel argues that as long as we have a person in our life we feel a connection with, be it a friend or a family member, our chances of becoming strong, resilient, happy adults increase exponentially.
Siegel says: "Being close to someone early in our lives gives us the clarity to know how we feel, and the ability to feel close to others."

This concept made me think of my oldest friend: Sara. I realized that in great part I have my precious friend Sara to thank for my relative balance and happiness as a "grown up." Sara and I both dealt with some rather difficult and traumatic experiences as teenagers, and I truly believe if it weren't for her love, support, and humor through those tough years, that I would probably be a terribly cranky, pessimistic, and downright antisocial person these days. I think I can safely say, more than any other person in my life {then or now}, Sara truly "felt" me! I hope I gave her at least a fraction of that experience, as well. Thanks so much dear Sara.

::Tell me readers, who is the person who has made you feel "felt" the most in your own life?? Don't forget to send them some love for Valentine's!! ♥♥♥

{And aren't these vintage lady friends super-cute in their jodhpurs??}

Wyndham Lewis: A Frog with a Paint Brush

My boyfriend and I cozied up under the blankets last night, and he read me some of his favorite excerpts from A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway's memoirs of his adventures among the American expatriate writers and artists in 1920's Paris.

In the book, Hemingway famously lampoons several well-known modernists, but his description of Wyndham Lewis [the founder of the Vorticist movement] is particularly scathing. He interchangeably refers to him as a "frog," "toe-jam" {ha!}, "evil," and "the nastiest man he has ever met." Lewis did become notorious for angering and offending almost every member of the artistic and literary community of the time, so Hemingway's assessment might not have been far from the truth...

I woke up this morning wondering: how is it possible that really nasty people can make beautiful art? I'm not personally a fan of Lewis' writing [though the boyfriend loves him]. But in my opinion, he is one of the most underrated visual artists of the early 20th century -- his portraits are particularly striking and poignant. For someone who loathed and mistreated fellow humans, he certainly seems to have had a knack for finding the beauty in them. Odd, isn't it?

:His portrait of the incomparable Dame Edith Sitwell {above} is one of my favorites by Lewis -- she seems so serene and wise sitting among her books. He captures her eccentricity and intelligence quite successfully. Not bad for a frog.

::See more of Lewis' work here / :: And I almost forgot, his manifesto, published in the little magazine Blast, is one of my favorites -- it's very funny. It's best read standing on a piece of furniture and speaking like a tyrannical ruler! I guess I don't mind his writing, after all.

Friday Mood Board

{::I really can't stop dreaming of summer: particularly the divine retro swimsuits at Anthropologie right now}.

I've become so prolific at posting links on Twitter lately that I haven't felt like doing a "Weekend Links" post for a while. I'm sure the mood will strike soon. If you usually like my links and you're on Twitter, head over there and and have a peek...

What do you have planned for the weekend, my pretty peaches? Tonight we are celebrating my boyfriend's birthday with man food [chicken fried steak] and man activities [shuffleboard and pool]. I'm afraid the rest of the weekend will be spent grading papers and doing "work."

Today, I thought I would just do a little mood board with some of the things swirling around in my head. What have you been reading/watching/dreaming of lately...?

::I might not have ever mentioned how big of a sci-fi nerd I am, but the cat's out of the bag! I just finished watching Battlestar Galactica, and I'm looking forward to the new spin-off series: Caprica.

::Hayv Kahraman is a new artist I recently discovered: her exotic mix of Middle Eastern influences with an Italian Renaissance vibe is so captivating!

::I am in love with this fashion history book I received for Christmas; I want to frame every picture...

::I have been watching old Pixies videos online with my boyfriend and arguing for their status as the greatest band of all time. What is your vote?

List Love!

List-making is like a glorious disease: you are compelled, driven mad by the gnawing desire to makes lists for everything from "All the Food I Still Need to Eat Before I Die" to "Movies I Have Seen That Made Me Want to Remove My Eyeballs." I make lists for the esoteric, the inspirational, the everyday, and the mundane. One of my favorite newer features on this blog is...you guessed it: "The List."

What kind of lists would you like to see more of here on Nothing Elegant? Personal, art-related, books, fashion-focused, local tid-bits?

...stay tuned for lists I already have up my sleeve, such as: my favorite dirty poetry; the best stop-motion animation films; women rockers whose style I want to steal; weird vacation spots; concerts to put on your calendar this year...and more.


::More links for the list-related: A place to indulge your addiction / Airam also shares my penchant for lists / List-makers with a twist / A secret society / My all-time favorite place to buy list-making materials.

Current Obsession: Chris Benz's Circus Chic

One of my most surreal childhood memories took place at the circus. When I was 10 years old, I won a radio contest and the prize was a night in the circus {not at -- in}. I was declared "The Princess of Barnum & Bailey's Circus," and I was dressed up in a spangled, be-ribboned costume and paraded around the rings in a horse drawn carriage. It was truly like a dream {or like a weird Italian film from the 60's}. Ever since then, I've had a bit of a secret fascination with all things circus-related. This is undoubtedly why I am so drawn to Chris Benz's Spring 2010 collection: there is something vaguely "cotton candy-meets-sequined acrobat-meets-clown" about his pieces. Feel like a night under the big-top??

::For the circus-obsessed: gorgeous book; one of the best shows ever; creepy film.

{Find more Chris Benz at style.com}

Holiday Wishes and Red Velvet Dreams...

To be fair, I know Santa is already bringing me a few of the items on my wish list...but no one has claimed the velvet dress or the satin PJ's yet!

• Amazon Kindle: I was uber-skeptical about the electronic book idea for a while, but when I realized I could download a ton of classic literature for next to nothing {and save room on my bookshelves}, I was sold.


• Betsey Johnson Satin PJ's: Winter has a tendency to make you feel a little less than seductive {due to erratic shaving habits and more layers of clothing}, but I think satin nighties might help.


• J Crew Annalise Ruffle Cami: the color and the face-framing ruffles just make me smile, and this would work well layered or worn alone in the warmer months.


• Toast Silk and Velvet Dress: A perfect party dress for fall and winter...plus, I cannot stop obsessing about velvet.


• Cuisinart Coffee Maker: This is a sign I'm officially a grown-up. No sir, no more $20 appliances for me!


• Marc Jacobs Lola eau de parfum: such a gorgeous scent...and an equally pretty bottle.

::What is on your wish list this year????

The List: Books Worth Kissing Santa For

...fuzzy beard and all!



::Grunge by Michael Lavine.

::Magic: 1400's-1950's / On Ugliness by Umberto Eco.



::1000 Degrees: Deyrolle.

::I Love Your Style by Amanda Brooks / I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot

::Baroque Baroque by Stephen Calloway.