The Bookish Dark is a joint collaboration between the inimitable Kaizerin and the formidable CountessZ. Spurred on by their mutual love and admiration for the written word, they decided they wanted a place where they could talk and talk (and talk some more) about their favorite subject ““ Books. More than that, they wanted to get other people talking about them as well. To that end, you will find this pair bouncing between joint discussions of mutual reads and reflections on their own reading lives.
You’ll notice that we’ve organized our blog to correspond with how we see the world. In other words, there are books (Book Reviews) and everything else (Remainders). We welcome comments and encourage you to jump into the fray and give us your thoughts. Don’t worry, we’re big girls, we can handle it. Just remember, polite, respectful and most important of all, honest. While the bookish life may appear to be a solitary endeavor to the casual observer, we all know that inside the reader’s mind there are adventures and wars, triumphs and tragedies, friendship, love, and loss, all stirring the blood and exercising the imagination. Readers may often be alone, but they are never lonely.
The name for The Bookish Dark is taken from a line in a Mark Strand poem, which sums up quite nicely the delicious and dangerous appetite for language these two ladies possess in unladylike abundance.
Eating Poetry by Mark Strand
Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.
The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.
The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.
Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.
She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.
I am a new man.
I snarl at her and bark.
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.