Dear Foxy,

Thanks so much for the link - I read "The Death of the Moth", and have bookmarked the site - great stuff.
It's sheer enjoyment to read a little study of life by such an artist with words. A short essay of that kind is so satisfying. I'm a huge fans of short stories as well - we'll have to start a thread on those down the track.

Dear Poirot,

I knew you'd enjoy the link.

Reading V. Woolf's prose makes me
realise that joy is contagious.

I love threads like this one.
And by all means let's have more of them.

I'd also love to read more of your work,
as you write so beautifully.

Dear Foxy,

I'm the laziest writer in the history of writers. Most of my stuff dissolves into dreams before I get it down.
I draw as well - but there again, I'm not very productive. It seems as if I have to feel quite passionate about a subject in order to produce something. I like to draw English and European architecture - cathedrals and such like...bit difficult from south Western Australia.
(I think I might have just broken Houellie's rule about "grandiose delusions" lol)

Dear Foxy, I read Solzhenitsyn about 20 years ago during my 'Russian lit' phase. Although it was bleakish I enjoyed it immensely.

Dear Squeers,

I enjoy too many essays to be able to choose just one.

Although I am a dedicated lover of post-modern literature (eg: JP Donleavy style), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._P._Donleavy, I often return to read the works of Charles Lamb (Essays of Elia).
MODERN GALLANTRY is one of my favourites.

http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~jer6616/
http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~jer6616/elia%281823%29.htm

It's not that I agree with much Lamb that Lamb writes about various subjects (as in IMPERFECT SYMPATHIES), but knowing of his tragic life and dutiful nature, I can't help but appreciate him as a product of his times. Speaking of which, he puts out his views without apparent malice - a kind of innocence which was well supported by prevailing views of the day - and in which he meant to be kind I think. Strangely, his views are not the least unusual today; may even be prevalent still - and it reminds me that for all of our (generalized) current arrogance that we have reached the pinnacle of human thought and endeavour - we really haven't moved very far in the past couple of centuries. (In one essay somewhere he actually talks about the great heights of civilization that society has reached - which caused me to chuckle). His essays contain are often hilarious, as when he writes about children that he likes and doesn't like, or about his married friends (he was a lifelong bachelor).

One of my other special essays to which I often return is:
The Power of Kindness: Real clout comes from being empathetic, cooperative, and communicative
May-June 2008
by Dacher Keltner, from Greater Good

- it became known to me when it was circulated at work a year or two ago.

http://www.utne.com/2008-05-01/Politics/The-Power-of-Kindness-and-Emotional-Intelligence.aspx

References are often made to Machiavelli’s The Prince (which I loved reading. It's brilliant and Machiavelli seems to me to have been greatly misunderstood.)

Apologies for the typos in the previous post - I'm tired, working and rushing out of guilt at procrastinating.

Dear Foxy,
I haven't read Solzhenitsyn, but must. I find it hard to read real-life accounts that are too moving. Reading Primo Levi's "If this is a Man" reduces me to tears, especially when I consider he suicided, not so long ago, after surviving Auschwitz.
I'd add to your list of great modern essayists (often published in NYRB and LRB) Edward Said (RIP), Terry Eagleton and our own Clive James. I too will make use of the Woolf link.

Dear Poirot,
I haven't read that Woolf essay but have appreciated her feminist "Three Guineas" to go with "A Room of One's Own". "Orlando" is my favourite of her (castrato-historical) fiction. I also love cathedrals (though can't draw). I have an interesting book called "How to Read a Church". My uncle was the bishop of Nottingham in the late 60's and I remember the cathedral's famous "pepperpots", and having the run of the bishop's manor. Ah nostalgia--great substance for essays!

DearPynchme,
I agree with your comments on Lamb--I disagree with many of my favourite authors, but am seduced by great prose! I'm going to read "The Power of Kindness".

Thanks, all, for the great reading tips! I highly recommend Robertson Davies's collection of essays, "A Voice from the Attic" (and his wonderful novels), and my current obsession (an acquired taste) is Slavoj Zizek.
And look at this treasure trove I just stumbled upon! :-)
http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/TableBest.htm

Poirot