Language & Grammar discussion

I've got two poems in this anthology. Coming soon.

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Is it going to be available for purchase? My younger sister had breast cancer, but lost her life due to the chemo . She was in the top 3% for leukemia side effects. It hardly seems like two years ,it feels like just a few months have past.

The editor says it's coming very soon. I'll let you know when it's available. I'm so sorry about your sister. I wish she had been as lucky as I was. How much you must miss her.

Okay. I think it would make nice gifts for my remaining two sisters.

Wow. Sorry about your sister, Kitty. I never knew that.

And Ruth, kudos on landing poetry in this publication!

Thanks you'll.

Kitty, I'm very sorry to hear about your sister.

Ruth, congratulations on getting into this anthology. That's really terrific news!

Thanks Gabi, NE, Jonathan.

Jonathan, how's the new book coming?

Yeah, Jonathan? News from the book front? And have you read about that new monster biography of Vincent Van Gogh? It was praised heaps in the Boston Globe's review this past week, but at damn-near 1,000 pp., it will be a long while before I got there, if at all.

It's horrible losing a sibling Kitty....whether you were close or not, it is like losing a piece of your childhood. No-one else will ever see you the way your siblings do.
Nice to see you around again Jonathan....and I think I saw this on Facebook Ruth? I hope it will be in e-format from Amazon.....

Newengland wrote: Yeah, Jonathan? News from the book front? And have you read about that new monster biography of Vincent Van Gogh? It was praised heaps in the Boston Globe's review this past week..."

The new Van Gogh bio is really worthwhile. I saw the Globe piece. I reviewed it too last weekend:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...

My own book is coming along with glacial slowness, but I'm enjoying the work--so can't complain.

Great review, Jonathan. So well written I enjoyed every word. I suppose we'll never have definitive answers to the puzzle of Van Gogh, but what a fascinating story it is. Has anyone written a bio of the long-suffering Theo?

Glad you liked the review, Ruth. There is a stand-alone biography of Theo--Theo: The Other Van Gogh--although it's mostly a reworking of the Theo side of Jan Hulsker's dual biography, which I mentioned in the article.

Another really interesting figure is Theo's widow, Johanna, who worked tirelessly to create an international reputation for Vincent after the two brothers died (within about 6 months of each other) in 1890 and 1891. She was the one who published the first edition of the letters and built a market for the enormous collection of paintings in Theo's possession. She and her son also laid the groundwork for establishing the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. One of the research curators there, Hans Luijten, is currently working on a biography of her.

That's interesting about Johanna. You'd think she would have resented Vincent, since he sucked so much time, attention and money away from her and their family.

Yes, nicely written review, Jonathan. And in the liberal-leaning WSJ, too! (Kidding.)

Ruth wrote: That's interesting about Johanna. You'd think she would have resented Vincent, since he sucked so much time, attention and money away from her and their family.

In truth, she may well have resented him...But as a young widow, she really had no other valuable legacy from her husband aside from Vincent's art. So, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade," as they say.

Newengland wrote: "Yes, nicely written review, Jonathan. And in the liberal-leaning WSJ, too! (Kidding.)"

Thanks, NE. I write for the Globe too, occasionally. My approach is pretty much the same wherever I write...and I'm honestly always grateful for the work.

Jonathan wrote: "Kitty, I'm very sorry to hear about your sister.

Ruth, congratulations on getting into this anthology. That's really terrific news!"

Thanks Jonathan. You always write interesting reviews. I look at them on occasions.

Van Gogh was never married, Gabi. He did have prolonged and unsuitable and unrequited crushes on several women, though.

Most of the world knows of his brother through the famous book, Dear Theo, which is a collection of some of the thousands of letters he wrote to his brother, who supported him both financially and emotionally.

It was Theo (the brother) who was married, Gabi. Vincent, to his regret, was not really marrying material. Theo was successful, but not truly wealthy, by any means, and supporting Vincent was a strain for him both emotionally and financially (although he did it without much complaint).

$16 million was a lot of money in the 1980s, but I would imagine that painting has more than held its value.

And Theo died 6 mos. after his brother, oddly.