View From the Bookshop Window ~
29 Talbot St., Cayuga, ON
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Thursday Afternoon Readings ~  in the bookshop always leave me pondering.  Yesterday, Pauline Johnson was the topic.  Reading the Mohawk princess' poetry and briefly touching on her life, John Passfield left most of us thinking.

In A Book of One's Own People and Their Diaries,   Thomas Mallon explores commonplace books.  Commonplace books are personal journals of one's reading.  Mallon notes that "inside most commonplace books there is a personal diary trying to get out."
Today I am left feeling that the Pauline Johnson story is "trying to get out."  We have not, for whatever reason, even begun to understand her life.  A visit to Chiefswood * is a good start.  A couple books, Pauline, A Biography of Pauline Johnson, by Betty Keller and Flint and Feather, The Life and Times of E. Pauline Johnson, by Charlotte Gray are informative. 


Thank you John and all who participated for your insight.  A thoughtful study of Pauline Johnson's own writings may be the best insight.
http://www.chiefswood.com/

* Chiefswood National Historic Site

Please note:  The Neat Little Bookshop will continue Thursday afternoon readings in the fall.  We look forward to new topics and fascinating personalities.  Have a safe and happy summer.