GOOD THINGS IN MAGAZINES

(picture by Paul Hawthorne)

One great reason to buy the March issue of Architectural Digest is for Francine Prose's essay on creating her new writing space. Prose makes a good argument for writing with a view.





If you can't afford to plop out the money for an issue, at least take a look at Architectural Digest on the web. This month includes four essays by John Updike. In Fictional Homes, Updike explored the importance of homes used in fiction from writers such as Thomas Hardy and Edith Wharton. An Exile's Impressions is about returning to New York.

The Houses of Ipswich paid tribute to living in historical homes. In the essay, Updike said, "We ourselves felt part, deeply and effortlessly, of the community because we owned a piece of its past, sleeping and eating in rooms where fourteen or so generations had left their scuff marks."

The last piece, Spat, gives an entirely different view of living in an historical home. Updike's opening may give you a hint--"The burglar alarm and furnace keep fighting. Early in the morning, when with a snort and rumble the furnace comes on and heat begins to pour in palpable sheets from the radiators, the alarm feels suddenly imposed upon, and lets out its enormous, heart-stopping wail."

Thank you, Architectural Digest, for your generous posting of these essays from a fine writer who is no longer with us, but whose work will last forever.



And while we're on the topic of magazines, congratulations to Kim McCole whose dear Daisy Cottage was profiled in Country Sampler this month. Kim's cottage makes you want to curl up in one of her chairs with a book and a glass of lemonade. Here's a little peek of what you will find inside:


(photo by Mark Sickles)