April Lindner

Ruins of a temple to Apollo Thought I'd share my essay on James Merrill's poem "After Greece."   Contemporary Poetry Review just published it here.  And if you aren't familiar Merrill's gorgeous poem, read it  here, at the bottom of this post. In related news, this week I stumbled across my missing photos from Greece.  Not all of them.  The coveted Santorini mule pictures are still missing.  But most have been accounted for.  Having them back is a true gift. To celebrate, here are some snapshots I took on the Island of Naxos.  Here's the beachfront taverna where we had breakfast: And an alleyway in the old walled city: And here's our wake as we waved goodbye.

What is it about an impending blizzard that makes everyone run for the grocery store?  It's not like we couldn't pull on some boots and walk the five blocks to SuperFresh if we forgot milk or ran out of bread in the middle of a storm.  Nevertheless, we spent yesterday stocking up.  And up.  And up. And once we'd laid in supplies for the Snowpocolypse, we ran out to squeeze in a little fun before the latest in a string of weather-imposed house arrests.  A movie.  And a plate of Bucatini Amatriciana to remind us of sunnier times--the week we spent in Rome a couple of summers ago. I'll be cooking in earnest once the snow starts to fall.  Until then, I plan to cheer myself up by stealing a little precious writing time to work on my Greek novel. Maybe I'll stream an Athenian  radio station .  Maybe I'll peek frequently at the weather in Santorini (a comparatively balmy 59 degrees Farenheit at the moment I type this).  I'll browse...