On Learning to Read

"When I caught the mumps, I couldn’t read; when I went back to school again, I could. The first page of The Hobbit was a thicket of symbols, to be decoded one at a time and joined hesitantly together…. By the time I reached The Hobbit’s last page, though, writing had softened, and lost the outlines of the printed alphabet, and become a transparent liquid, first viscous and sluggish, like a jelly of meaning, then ever thinner and more mobile, flowing faster and faster, until it reached me at the speed of thinking and I could not entirely distinguish the suggestions it was making from my own thoughts. I had undergone the acceleration into the written word that you also experience as a change in the medium. In fact, writing had ceased to be a thing—an object in the world—and become a medium, a substance you look through."

-from The Child That Books Built by Frances Spufford

rEVOLV3r Apparel

If the walls of rEVOLV3r apparel could talk, apparently they would speak with the voice of literary genius. This Etsy shop’s striking wall decals bring thoughtfully selected quotes, and crisp images to any wall in your house. Choose quotes from authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Aristotle or William Butler Yeats. This shop also offers decals with imagery culled from popular culture ranging from The Big Lebowski to Audrey Hepburn, as well as geometric patterns, cityscapes and imagery from nature. Other items in this shop include apparel, specialty belt buckles and decals for cars and laptops.

“All wall decals are made from durable vinyl rated to last 5 years outside and virtually forever inside,” says the founder of this Delaware-based shop, “These are easily applied to any smooth clean surface and will instantly transform any space you put them on.” A truly novel and inspired idea to bring personality (and literature) to your everyday surroundings!

To learn more or to purchase an item from rEVOLV3r Apparel, please visit: http://www.revolv3rapparel.etsy.com.

(Photos, from top: WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS Quote Vinyl Wall Decal Room Décor, Karl Marx Political Icon Wall Decal Wall Art, HENRY DAVID THOREAU Vinyl Poem Wall Decal Room Décor. All images courtesy of rEVOLV3r Apparel.)

"On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again" by John Keats

O golden-tongued Romance with serene lute!
Fair plumed Syren! Queen of far away!
Leave melodizing on this wintry day,
Shut up thine olden pages, and be mute:
Adieu! for once again the fierce dispute,
Betwixt damnation and impassion'd clay
Must I burn through; once more humbly assay
The bitter-sweet of this Shakespearian fruit.
Chief Poet! and ye clouds of Albion,Begetters of our deep eternal theme,
When through the old oak forest I am gone,
Let me not wander in a barren dream,
But when I am consumed in the fire,
Give me new Phoenix wings to fly at my desire.

Yardia

The swirling fabrics and delicate patterns of Regency and Victorian dresses are juxtaposed with the witty phraseology of the women who wore them in this elegant Etsy shop. Yardia is the creation of Seattle-based artist and teacher, Brigida Swanson. Offerings in her shop include original pen and ink drawings, limited-edition Gocco prints, hand-printed cards and card sets, and embellished moleskine journals.

“I'm currently obsessed with making art inspired by nineteenth century apparel and literature,” says Swanson, “especially that of my favorite writer, Jane Austen.” Her current assortment of artworks includes words of wisdom from literary greats Emily Dickinson, Charlotte Bronte, William Shakespeare and, of course, Jane Austen. Expertly-selected Romantic pastel and Victorian jewel-toned papers complement specialty inks on each carefully-crafted and delicate design—artwork that recalls the intensive workmanship and intimate intricacies of a Victorian gown.

To purchase items from Yardia’s Etsy Shop or to learn more about Yardia, please visit: http://www.yardia.etsy.com. If you’d like to become a fan of Yardia on Facebook, please visit:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yardia/81426801701.

(Photos (from top): Charlotte Bronte print - Upward (violet), Jane Austen Print – Do Not Faint, Jane Austen Card – Only of You. All Photos Courtesy of Yardia.)