Toodle-oo and Whatnot
“It was one of those still evenings you get in the summer, when you can hear a snail clear its throat a mile away.”
P.G. Wodehouse, Carry On, Jeeves
Dear Friends,
I hope your summer evenings have been as still and languid as the one described by Bertie Wooster just above. Filled with family and friends and fun. Without too many ants scuttling across the potato salad of life.
Hopefully, too, you’ve enjoyed a spot of vacation, or soon will. My wife Amy and I are currently setting out our swimming trunks and evening wear in anticipation of a 30th Wedding Anniversary Jaunt. And boy, am I ready for the break. I’ve enjoyed good progress on my writing projects this summer, but I’ve squeezed all the juice out of the old onion (it doesn’t take much), and am in need of refreshment and recreation—not to mention a tissue restorer or two.
Thus, it’s toodle-oo for the time being. I’ll be back in August with more from the Comic Muse.
So that my absence won’t make your existence stretch before you like a dry and weary land without water, as the poet said, I leave you with two of my most recent podcasts. Both feature breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat discussions of my latest: Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts:
The first is a conversation I had with Thomas Mirus on the Catholic Culture Podcast: “Beauty, Imitation, and Music.” Thomas is an accomplished musician, and so he and I had a vigorous exchange on how purely instrumental music, from Mozart to Charlie Parker, could be imitative of reality. His cordial and compelling objections were a delight to grapple with. A true feast of reason and flow of soul, as the wise man said. Enjoy!
Secondly, imagine Main Street in Front Royal, Virginia on a sultry summer evening. Four men gather in a corner office above the street to sip rye whisky and exchange assorted pearls regarding art and beauty. This is what happened when I joined the Boys at The Dewing Virtue Podcast. Check it out here on Spotify, or wherever fine podcasts are sold, and find out why I’m the Steve Martin of The Dewing Virtue Podcast.
Until next time, Friends!
Daniel
Tearing your hair out because you can’t find your next great summetime read? Tear no further. My novel, The Good Death of Kate Montclair, is available at Chrism Press, Amazon (where it currently enjoys a 4.9 average review rating), and other discerning outlets.
You can also find Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts, at both Word on Fire and Amazon.
If you have read one or both of these books, may I crave a boon? May I ask that you leave an honest review on Amazon? It needn’t be an essay—just hitting one of the gold stars is sufficient to stir Amazon’s algorithm to life. And even if you are moved to write something, it needn’t be longer than a sentence or two. No five-paragraph essay required. I would be most profoundly in your debt. Thank you!