A cinephilac blog about an actress, silent film, and the Jazz Age, with occasional posts about related books, music, art, and history written by Thomas Gladysz. Visit the Louise Brooks Society™ at www.pandorasbox.com
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Friday, October 9, 2009
Dear Stinkpot
Publisher BearManor Media has announced the forthcoming publication of Dear Stinkpot: Letters from Louise Brooks, by Jan Wahl. I can't wait! It should be out in a few weeks.
”Stinkpot” being a playground epithet, it's apt abuse for a dear one like Junior who'd author a s******d of children's books. However, it derives from Chinese weaponry, not the chamber pot. The OED dates the slang use to 1854; and, for two instances, finds it in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ("Go away from here, he said rudely. Go away, you stink-pot.") and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959).
On Brooks' last night ensnared by the surly bonds of Earth*, she and Marjorie VanTassell "got into Mother Goose rhymes". So, on some basic or intrinsic level, the little girl always persisted in her, eh? ... Several composers have been inspired by Mother Goose. Ravel created "Ma mère l'oye" as a piano suite (i.e., a succession of dances) in 1910. Did Myra Brooks have the sheet music?
*Challenger had just returned, commanded by a Rochester native.
Yay!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what letters it'll have or how extensive it'll be...
ReplyDeletethat a must-have for sure!
ReplyDeleteI'll buy that for a dollar. Now if only, if only we could have the unexpurgated Brooks diaries I'd be a very happy girl.
ReplyDelete”Stinkpot” being a playground epithet, it's apt abuse for a dear one like Junior who'd author a s******d of children's books. However, it derives from Chinese weaponry, not the chamber pot. The OED dates the slang use to 1854; and, for two instances, finds it in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ("Go away from here, he said rudely. Go away, you stink-pot.") and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959).
ReplyDeleteOn Brooks' last night ensnared by the surly bonds of Earth*, she and Marjorie VanTassell "got into Mother Goose rhymes". So, on some basic or intrinsic level, the little girl always persisted in her, eh? ... Several composers have been inspired by Mother Goose. Ravel created "Ma mère l'oye" as a piano suite (i.e., a succession of dances) in 1910. Did Myra Brooks have the sheet music?
*Challenger had just returned, commanded by a Rochester native.
Looking forward to the book - thanks for the update.
ReplyDeleteI came across this picture on the Papaya company's blog today & thought you might enjoy it:
http://www.papayablog.com/2009/10/fearless-is.html