I've just learned that one Warren Emerson (a pseudonym, I'm led to believe) has begun blogging at theliterarytable.com. One of the things I'm going to do is to try to figure out Mr. Emerson's identity. I've got a few guesses already; we'll see just how far off base I am. Given that I had no idea that Jonathan Adler was Juan Non-Volokh, my track record isn't good for these sorts of things….
But the idea behind theliterarytable.com is an intriguing one: selections of poetry and prose from important literary figures, as well as commentary on their writings and on the writings of leading academics. The first post lists a few people in particular: "Robert Penn Warren, Herman Melville, Fydor Doystoyvesky, Edgar Allen Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, F. Scott Fitzgerald." Pretty interesting list — no Dickinson, Stowe, or Thoreau. But perhaps this'll be like the faculty lounge and people will come and go. Here's one conversation I'd love to hear: Melville commenting on the similarity between Billy Budd and Stowe's Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp.
The image is Osias Beert the Elder's Dishes with Oysters, Fruit, and Wine in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
A wonderful new blog. Thank you.