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The Himrich Library, Week of 9/1/2024

Dana Himrich

— 2 min read

Hello!

I'm writing to you all at the end of a lovely Labor Day evening, and I hope you've all had a wonderful, relaxing holiday. Mine went quite well: the weather was nice and cool, my father grilled pork chops for dinner, and yours truly got a crash course in how to prepare baked zucchini.

I'd like to share with you a pair of haikus I wrote earlier in the year. Together I call them "Summer Breeze":

Fingers made of air
brush against my sun-burnt face
like a soothing balm.

Breeze is to summer
as the oasis is to
the empty desert.

But now that it's September, my attention inevitably turns to my favorite part of the year: spooky season!

What I'm Reading

  • During the month of September, I've made plans to re-read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. This will be my third time taking in this classic Gothic novella, originally published in 1959. I love its iconic setting, its complex and pitiable protagonist and the unique tapestry of dread that Jackson weaves with her depiction of terrors both mundane and (maybe) supernatural.
  • To complement Hill House, I also read Jackson's 1948 short story "The Lottery" for the first time. It's a timeless example of horror coming directly from humanity's own callousness rather than its fears, with Jackson's initial image of a small-town summertime ceremony giving way to something much more sinister. Even after seventy-six years, the story's blatant stance against blind groupthink and clinging to harmful traditions still hits the reader like a rock (pun intended).

What I'm Writing

  • Inspired by a freewriting exercise I did the other day, I've decided to start working on a Gothic horror novella that should keep me occupied through the months of September and October. I'm thinking priests and demons and exorcisms in old country houses for this one. Doesn't that sound pleasant?

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Have a wonderful week. I'll write to you again soon!

-- Dana

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