john ashbery
with only one r
the name caught my eye first after the title which had me holding it in my hand when I professed not buying a single thing I still am not sure who he is beyond the author of this tidy collection of essays about his friends authors artists from a bygone time
nostalgia I suppose
the pages contain something that lets me allow for it without calling it a fault of age or lack of forward in such a way that this world becomes more precious and the pages thick and strong with thought and the words underlineable with a gentle graphic score so that now and also someday I have this to hold in my hand