Notices by Maria Popova (mariapopova@indieweb.social)

"(How frail the human heart must be—
a throbbing pulse, a trembling thing—
a fragile, shining instrument
of crystal, which can either weep,
or sing.)"

Remembering Sylvia Plath, born on this day in 1932, with her early work of genius when still a teenager https://t.co/WxXcWDKMVr

Sylvia Plath, who would have been 91 today had chance dealt her better biochemistry (and maybe a better husband), on living with the darkness and making art of the barely bearable lightness of being https://t.co/yrfgJXLs2x

“Children in wonder watching the stars, is the aim and the end.”

On Dylan Thomas's birthday, one of his least known, most beautiful poems about the limitation and wonder of being human https://t.co/k9ig7q3gdi

On Sylvia Plath's birthday, Meryl Streep reads her stunning "Morning Song" https://t.co/dthEXmRWY5

“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

On Dylan Thomas's birthday, the story behind "Do not go gentle into that good night" and a rare recording of the poet himself reading it https://t.co/3cjMtUMykO

“This is the light of the mind, cold and planetary.”

On Sylvia Plath's birthday, Patti Smith reads her haunting portrait of the depression that didn't let her life to be 91 today https://t.co/6DD0qe7hLr

Of owls and roses – Mary Oliver on the sublime interconnectedness of life https://t.co/UMI3OUN8Jk

This is going to be wonderful: On December 5 at the @MorganLibrary, the poetic physicist Alan Lightman will contemplate the origin of our transcendent experiences https://t.co/0Birij0C7w

"Just set one day’s work in front of the last day’s work. That’s the way it comes out. And that’s the only way it does." https://t.co/mU6DDExmCn

The moving story of how a species of redwood came back from the brink of extinction to unite humanity in the middle of a World War https://t.co/9YRGXKvTWC

“A healthy mind knows how to hope; it identifies and then hangs on tenaciously to a few reasons to keep going. Grounds for despair, anger, and sadness are, of course, all around. But the healthy mind…clings to evidence of what is still good and kind. It remembers to appreciate.” https://t.co/3lv6NcNtMH

"I learned what every dreaming child needs to know — that no horizon is so far that you cannot get above it or beyond it." https://t.co/dEnL3sjvdT

On this day in 1938, Steinbeck completed 'The Grapes of Wrath,' which earned him a Pulitzer and became a cornerstone of his Nobel. Here is how he used the diary as a tool of discipline and a hedge against self-doubt: https://t.co/9lSP0SFxW1

"We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”

60 years ago today, JFK delivered his magnificent Amherst address on poetry, power, and the artist's role in society – one of the greatest speeches ever given:
https://t.co/sFziO4yMJ0

Born on this day in 1902, Beryl Markham not only became the first person to fly across the Atlantic solo from East to West but wrote oh so beautifully about what she learned about life in the bottomless night https://t.co/f3TN2tsVeP

Alain de Botton on the qualities of a healthy mind https://t.co/bzHa8LiPoe

The Blue Hour – a stunning illustrated celebration of nature's rarest color https://t.co/izOBqm2sYM

On Zadie Smith's birthday, her uncommonly insightful meditation on what writers can learn from the great dancers https://t.co/aQ1E1o7Zvu

“One must have the courage of one’s vocation and the courage to make a living from one’s vocation.”

Picasso, born on this day in 1881, on success and why you should never compromise in creative work https://t.co/cBD0q3lGik

Every loss reveals what we're made of – the fascinating science of why leaves change color and the ongoing mystery of chlorophyll https://t.co/Ffyi3MoKJh