Literary Britain and Ireland
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Sculpture group
in tribute to the Alvarez Quintero Brothers (1932)
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The Álvarez Quintero brothers, Serafín (1871-1938) and Joaquín (1873-1944), were born in Utrera (Seville) and appeared in Madrid. They were both poets, narrators, journalists, but above all playwrights, achieving innumerable successes in the theater and no failures, forming an original and unrepeatable duo. It gained great popularity in the first half of the 20th century, even outside our borders, a theme full of linguistic richness and elegance. This contribution is due to the admission of both in the Royal Spanish Academy of Language.
The sculptural group was commissioned to
sculptor Lorenzo Coullaut Valera. His
son, Federico Coullaut, with only
nineteen years old, took over
finish the work from 1932, the year
that his father died. It was inaugurated on December 2, 1934 by the mayors of Madrid and Seville.´
In the central opening appears a young woman,
carved in marble, dressed in the
Andalusian, with a shawl that falls down
off the railing.
man on horseback, also dressed
in a campervan and holding his hat
Cordovan with his right hand,
pretending to woo the lady.
What better place to place it than El Retiro Park, the Madrid park that was so loved by
Alvarez Quintero brothers.
is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs :-)
John Osborne (1929 – 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur
Science Matters! Vote!!
strawflower, 'Granvia Pink', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
Schiller Park is a tiny park in the St. Joseph's Park Neighborhood downtown. It was originally called Franklin Square.
Schiller Park's name is comes from a bust of Freidrich von Schiller, a German poet and playwright. He was born in 1759 and died in 1805. Local German-American societies commissioned the bust in the early 1900s and installed it in Anderson Park, located at the corner of Main Street and University Avenue. Unfortunately, Anderson Park was largely destroyed by the construction of the Inner Loop in 1968 and the monument was subsequently moved.
Today, the little plot that is Schiller Park is all that remains of Franklin Square, once a center of the German-American community 121
Inside the Oslo Town Hall
Oslo City Hall is a landmark building in Oslo and Norway.
The architects of the building, Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson had a clear idea of what they wanted the building to represent, and artists such as Edvard Munch, Henrik Sørensen, Alf Rolfsen and Per Krogh have helped to underpin the architects' vision.
The main hall was decorated by two famous Norwegian artists: Henrik Sørensen and Alf Rolfsen.
In one of the frescoes, the pillars of Norwegian identity are represented—fishing, forestry, and industry—flanked on either end by explorer Fridtjof Nansen and playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, both of whom won Nobel prizes.
The mural on the east side of the wall displays the history of the Nazi occupation
The White Trillium is a wildflower native to much of eastern North America, and it is the official flower of Ontario, Canada. There were many hundreds in bloom on this woodland slope near Orillia. These perennials grow in masses in woodlands and on shaded slopes. This was taken on the same outting as the closeup shot of the single blossom.
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"No better way is there to learn to love Nature than to understand Art. It dignifies every flower of the field." Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet.
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Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would exclusively produce Canadian plays, but it soon became a widely emulated policy by other theatre companies. Factory quickly became known as the home of the Canadian playwright, and is especially associated with George F. Walker, most of whose plays premiered there
Architect Gundry and Langley designed the building in 1869. J.M. Cowan is considered the subsequent architect/consultant.
Factory Theatre consists of two main buildings. The first is the original 1896 house and the second is the 1910 addition. The building is also known as the John Mulvey House. It was given heritage status by the Ontario Heritage Board in 1987.
The original house was constructed in a classic Queen Anne Gothic design for the prominent Toronto merchant John Mulvey in 1869.
It is attributed to architects Gundry & Langley. The house’s architectural features include:
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From the world’s famous playwright (previous image) to its famous writer ........
My decades ago visit to Tolstoy’s Moscow home was a pilgrimage. It didn’t go smoothly. Wet snow was falling and the afternoon darkening. 'Dom Tolstova, Ulitsa Lva Tolstova pazhalusta' - that to the taxi driver – what could be clearer? But we were not going south across the river, we were in the wrong district, where was he heading? Then he proudly pulled up at an 'Alexei' Tolstoy’s house. Alexei was apparently a distant Tolstoy relative exploiting the famous name and an associate of Stalin. Nyet! Nyet!
The snow thickened, the sky darkened another stop. Aided by the hindrance of my non-Cyrillic street map and - better - directions from a policeman, he eventually got there. Well not quite! Snow had blocked the road so it was a final trudge on foot through its wetness. No problem – everyone should suffer on a pilgrimage!
Count Lev Tolstoy bought his Moscow home in 1882, years after writing War and Peace (1867). Countess Sonya nagged him into it. It was necessary for their children’s education as his ancestral estate, Yasnaya Polyana, was 200 km from Moscow and isolated. Etc. Etc..
However, she was not pleased with his choice! The large brown painted wooden house had no running water. It was in a (then) unfashionable industrial district with the mixed smells of a nearby perfume distillery and a brewery. A stocking factory no doubt contributed its noise for each morning the family was awakened by factory whistles. The master was already long up chopping wood, fetching water and being the peasant.
Still, the Countess enjoyed Moscow society. She held frequent soirees where she entertained Russia’s artistic elite. The cantankerous Count was less enthusiastic. There is a cobbler's bench at the top of the stairs outside his study – a hobby of his. There is a probably apocryphal story that he would indulge in the noisy hammering of shoe making during her gatherings.
The images on that darkening snowy day are rescued from ancient print film. Once inside his house, I had an overwhelming feeling of deja vu – it was all so homely and familiar - perhaps from reading his works for so long.
It got too dark to grab a precious photograph of his study on my 100 ISO film. The house had no electricity as it was left as it was after his death. Instead the inset image of Tolstoy in that study at the very same desk is a painting of 1884 by Nikolai Ge in the Tretyakov Gallery.
From here the Danish poet, playwright and Lutheran pastor Kaj Munk was picked up on the evening of 4 January 1944 by five people from a German SS terrorist patrol. He was shot in a plantation near the Jutland town of Silkeborg. Kaj Munk is remembered as one of the foremost intellectual opponents of the German occupation of Denmark. The Danish government allowed his widow, Lise, and the children to live at the parish house. Lise died in 1998.
Louis Nebel was later identified as the one who fired the killing shots. Towards the end of the war, he was hired by the American intelligence service, OSS, as a double agent. The OSS made persistent attempts to avoid Louis Nebel being extradited to Denmark. However, he was handed over and sentenced to a ridiculously short prison sentence of 12 years, even though he originally faced the death penalty. He was released after six years!
Across the street from The George Inn in Hubberholme is St. Michael and All Angels, a Norman church that dates back to the 12th century with a roof completed in the mid-1500s. As part of the church property is a graveyard, where the ashes of author and playwright J. B. Priestly are buried. An interesting feature of this church are the oak pews, where mice can be found carved in the woodwork.
Oscar Wilde is an Irish poet and playwright. He is regarded as one of the greatest producers of Irish literature.
Oscar Wilde est un poète et dramaturge irlandais. Il est considéré comme l'un des plus grands créateurs de littérature irlandaise.
NO Photoshop !... Shot at dusk ! ! ... NO manipulations ! ! !
" A map of the world that does not include Utopia* is not worth even glancing at,
for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. "
..........Oscar Wilde.....( 1854 - 1900 ).
.....Anglo-Irish poet, playwright, novelist.
..........' The Fortnightly Review '.....( Feb. 1891 ).
*Utopia is a place of ideal perfection !...:-) .
..........Grateful thanks to all my contacts, friends & all flickr members for their continued support that this image has made Explore. Really appreciated. Thanks to ALL. Thanks EVERYONE.
Regno Unito, Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon, Primavera 2014
Stratford-upon-Avon è una città di mercato a Warwickshire, in Inghilterra, sul fiume Avon. Nel 1196 fu concessa una carta da Re Riccardo I per tenere un mercato settimanale in città. Di conseguenza, Stratford ha sperimentato un aumento del commercio così come dell'espansione urbana. La città è una nota destinazione turistica per aver dato i natali al drammaturgo e poeta inglese William Shakespeare, e riceve circa 2,5 milioni di visitatori all'anno.
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town in Warwickshire, England, on the River Avon. In 1196 it was granted a charter from King Richard I to hold a weekly market in the town. As a result, Stratford experienced an increase in trade and commerce as well as urban expansion. The town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and receives approximately 2.5 million visitors a year.
Better known by his pen name Serafí Pitarra, Frederic Soler was a Catalan playwright who wrote over a hundred plays as well as several books of poetry. The white marble monument which was erected in his memory stands directly opposite Barcelona’s oldest theatre, Teatre Principal
[ENG] “Blessed be Providence which has given to each his toy: the doll to the child, the child to the woman, the woman to the man, the man to the devil!”. Victor Hugo, French poet, playwright, and romantic novelist, also a politician and intellectual who influenced history and literature in the 19th century.
For “Looking close... on Friday!” group, “Doll” theme
[ESP] “¡Bendita sea la Providencia que le ha dado a cada uno su juguete: la muñeca al niño, el niño a la mujer, la mujer al hombre, el hombre al diablo!”. Victor Hugo, poeta, dramaturgo y novelista romántico francés, también político e intelectual que influyó en la historia y en la literatura del siglo XIX.
Para el grupo “Looking close... on Friday!” (¡Mirando de cerca ... el viernes!), tema “Muñeca”.
189098
سلطان -أبو مالك- أحد الأصدقاء المقربين لي ، وأحد الأشخاص الذين أعمل معهم ، وأستمتع حقيقة بالعمل معهم
سلطان في الأساس مدرس لغة إنجليزية بوزارة التربية والتعليم ، وقد قضى في هذا المجال مايقارب الست سنوات ويزيد ، إلا أن طموحه لا يقف عند التعليم فحسب ، فهو إلى جانب مهنته الأساسية يقوم بإعطاء كورسات في اللغة الإنجليزية للمبدئين والراغبين في التعلم من مختلف الأعمار والمهن ، كما أنه يعمل ككاتب مسرحي وروائي من الطراز الممتاز ، وقد شارك في العديد من المهرجانات المحلية والعالمية بأعمال مسرحية متنوعة المواضيع والمحتوى
ومؤخراً ، انضم سلطان إلى فريق العمل التلفزيوني كـ كاتب سكربت وسيناريو ، وقد استمتعت كثيراً برفقته في رحلات حول المملكة
اما على الصعيد الشخصي ، فهو شخص متزوج ولديه ولدان ( أكبرهما مالك) يشاركونه حب العمل والحياة
كما أن لديه خبرة لا بأس بها بالآلات الموسيقية والألحان ، والأغاني ، وهو من محبي "فيروز" وأغانيها
الغريب في الأمر أنني لا أذكر يوماً نظرت إليه وهو عابس ، أو عبس في وجهي
هكذا تكون الـ : روح الحلوة
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Sultan is one of my close friends, and one of the people I work with, and I might say I really enjoy his company. Originally, he's an English language teacher, and has been for about 6 years or so. His ambition though doesn't stop at teaching, he gives english courses for beginners in his free time. He's also a successful playwright whose works have been featured in many local and international theatrical occasions with a wide range of themes and topics.
He recently joined our crew as a script and scenario writer, and I've enjoyed his pleasing company and experience often times.
On a more personal level, Sultan is happily married and has two adorable boys (the elder is Malik) who share with him his passion for work and life. He also has a relatively good experience when it comes to musical instruments and melodies; a great fan of "Fairouz"!
What's interesting is that I don't remember looking at him without finding a smile on his face; he never meet anyone without smiling!
And here I truly can say: "That's the spirit !"
Three hundred years from the birth of the great venetian playwright (February 25 th 1707).
He has written very pleasant and immortal things in venetian, in italian, in french language.
Poet and playwright Robert Frost is buried at The Old First Church in Bennington, Vermont. Robert Lee Frost born 1874, died 1963 at 88. Frost is the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. In 1961 he was named poet laureate of Vermont. His works are many, including "The Road Not Taken." Information from Wikipedia
I had just arrived in the State of Vermont literally a few minutes earlier. The road brought me to the front of this beautiful and historic Old First Church with this cemetery adjacent. I could have stayed here for hours, but unfortunately it was already getting late and I had no place to stay so had to attend to that via apps on my phone. I had hoped to return the next day, but many times things don't work out the way you think. At least I'm glad I was able to see this much. It was so beautiful.
Dedicated to my beloved German Poet, Playwright, and Theatre Director BERTOLT BRECKT
HIDE AND SEEK WITH MY PLAYMATE SUN
…while the playwright looks on.
For We're Here - Anything Absurd
Also for Sliders Sunday. Focus stacked, layered, then gently erased to reveal the background. Minor adjustments to saturation.
#beetsfordinnertonight
Put some zing into your 365! Join We're Here!
John B Keane Pub in Listowel in Kerry County Ireland. He was an Irish playwright, novelist and essayist who wrote "The Field" and "Sive".
New York City's Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the world. Print size 13x19 inches.
Independence, Kansas: I am here, and I am actually staying in the Inge family house, the house where playwright William Inge grew up in the 1910s and 1920s. I have had a chance to meet with the director of the show I will be costuming out here, Picnic, and some of the actors (it is essentially a college production with a guest artist actress from New York).
This is the actual staircase in the house, the one perhaps Inge remembered for his play, Dark at the Top of the Stairs.
There isn't a lot of time to write tonight, but I thought I would post my portrait, at least!!!!
This bronze bust of the composer, playwright and actor Ivor Novello (1893-1951) is by his friend Clemence Dane, and lives in a special alcove in the London theatre that bears his name.
Clemence Dane CBE was far more than a sculptor: between the two World Wars, she was also Britain’s most influential, versatile and successful female novelist, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, painter, broadcaster and lecturer.
But back to Novello, who is famous for two songs in particular – Keep the Home Fires Burning (1914, words by Lena Guilbert Ford) and We’ll Gather Lilacs (1945).
His most notable West End musical productions were Glamorous Night (1935) and Dancing Years (1939). He lived for 38 years in a flat above the Strand Theatre (now the Novello Theatre, renamed in 2005). At present, the theatre is hosting the long-running ABBA musical Mamma Mia!. I think he would have enjoyed it!
The Playwright pub, Nottingham. Formerly The Clinton Arms, this was a right royal den of iniquity in the 70s, I should know, it’s where we students of the lithographic arts spent our lunchtimes in the company of scantily clad nubiles ;))
Jules Gabriel Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the Voyages extraordinaires, a series of bestselling adventure novels including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).
His novels, always well-researched according to the scientific knowledge then available, are generally set in the second half of the 19th century, taking into account the technological advances of the time. Wikipedia
(Original black and white photo by Etienne Carjat.)
Jules Gabriel Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the Voyages extraordinaires, a series of bestselling adventure novels including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).
His novels, always well-researched according to the scientific knowledge then available, are generally set in the second half of the 19th century, taking into account the technological advances of the time. Wikipedia
(Original black and white photo by Etienne Carjat.)
Explored 11-7-24
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond.
He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). In 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Original black and white photo by Marcel Sternberger. Shaw was reluctant at first to even sit for Sternberger and said he wouldn't "buy a single picture". After seeing samples of the photos, he changed his mind and order 50 copies of one. Sternberger was reluctant to produce so many portraits without payment, but eventually complied.
Shaw sent the photographer an envelope filled with numerous small checks. Shaw said, “[It’s] very simple: My autograph is worth more [than each check]; you can sell the checks to autograph collectors and get yourself some more money [than the portraits cost] which you deserve; they won’t cash the checks, so the whole transaction won’t cost me a penny.”
The monument to poet Giovann Battista Niccolini has an interesting sculpture. Pio Fedi’s sculpture embodies the Liberty of Poetry. It closely resembles the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde, 1854-1900. Irish poet and playwright.
Original black and white photo by Sarony, courtesy of The Library of Congress.
William Shakespeare. I wonder if he actually looked anything at all like this? I imagine someone slightly stooped from sitting at a table writing, with ink all over his hands, a scruffy beard, and hair all over the place....
English playwright William Shakespeare is by far one of the most famous names in the theatre industry, yet there are still many facts about him that would shock and surprise you. Here are 10 strange facts to get you started.
1. Shakespeare’s will was slightly strange
The only thing Shakespeare left to his wife in his will was the second-best bed in the house. His will reads: ‘“I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture”. The “furniture” refers to the linen for the bed.
2. One of Shakespeare’s relatives was executed
Edward Arden, a cousin of Shakespeare’s mother, was arrested for reportedly plotting against Queen Elizabeth I, although there was no clear evidence that he was actually involved. He was then imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed. Ouch!
3. Shakespeare was not an Elizabethan playwright
Calling Shakespeare an Elizabethan playwright is actually incorrect. The majority of his plays were written after Queen Elizabeth I’s death, making him a Jacobean writer.
4. Shakespeare often wrote about suicide
Shakespeare seemed to be fond of one particular kind of death – suicide. In fact, suicide occurs a whopping 13 times in Shakespearean plays.
5. Two of Shakespeare’s plays have been translated into Klingon
Klingon is the language created for the Star Trek science fiction series. You can read Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing in the fantasy language.
6. Some moons were named after Shakespeare’s characters
The moons circling around the planet of Uranus are mostly named after characters from Shakespeare plays, including Oberon, Ariel, and Juliet.
7. No one’s dared to go close to Shakespeare’s tomb since 1747
Shakespeare had a poem sketched into his tomb in Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. It says anyone who moves his bones will be cursed. Consequently, his grave has gone untouched since 1747.
8. One of Shakespeare’s plays is never performed by modern theatre companies
One of Shakespeare’s plays has been completely lost to history. There is evidence that he wrote a play called Cardenio which was performed in England, but no known copy of the play exists.
9. Shakespeare never published any of his own plays
Thankfully his friends John Heminges and Henry Condell did it posthumously and saved the world of theatre.
10. Shakespeare turned to sonnets because of a plague
He only stopped writing plays and turned to sonnets because the plague caused all theatres to be shut down. Maybe you could say the plague wasn’t so bad after all?
greatbritishmag.co.uk/uk-culture/10-strange-facts-about-s...
365 #50
Gustav Seitz, Mannheim-Neckarau 1906 - Hamburg 1969
Der Stückeschreiber - The Playwright (Bert Brecht) 1959
Der sehr persönliche Blick von Seitz auf Brecht wird besonders deutlich in einem 1959 geschaffenen Porträt, das Brecht mit fast rundem Kopf, flach modellierten Ohren und Haaren, einer schiefen Nase, einem dünnen, lächelnden Mund und eingedrückter Augenpartie zeigt. Er wirkt ruhig und weise. Diese Skulptur fertigte Seitz in mehreren Exemplaren in Bronze und Terrakotta.
This bronze statue depicts the American composer, playwright, actor, and producer George M. Cohan (1878-1942). The statue was designed by Georg John Lober (1892-1961) and dedicated in 1959. It stands in Duffy Square, named for Father Francis Patrick Duffy (1871-1932), a military chaplain and priest, who ministered to a local congregation after serving in World War I.
Cohan was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 3, 1878. His parents were in show business, and at an early age he performed in vaudeville as well as on the “legitimate stage.” One of his first roles was with his father, mother, and sister in the family musical-comedy act, “The Four Cohans.” Besides acting, singing, and dancing, Cohan began to write plays and songs in his youth.
The first play that Cohan produced in New York, The Governor’s Son (1901), was not well received. However, his next effort, Little Johnny Jones (1904), began a succession of hits, and several of his songs, such as “Over There” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” have become standards. Cohan was the quintessential showman, often combining patriotic fervor with Broadway razzle-dazzle. In 1942, James Cagney won an Academy Award as best actor for his portrayal of Cohan in the film Yankee Doodle Dandy.
After Cohan’s death, a memorial committee, whose first chairman was the noted composer Irving Berlin, sought to commission a statue in his honor. Oscar Hammerstein II the composer, was the committee’s second chairman, and saw the project through. The committee selected Georg Lober as the sculptor and Otto Lanmann as the architect. The same team collaborated on the statue of Hans Christian Anderson in Central Park (1956). Plans for the George M. Cohan statue were announced in 1956, and the following year work began on a reconstruction of Duffy Square. On September 11, 1959, the Cohan statue was formally unveiled and accepted on behalf of the city by Mayor Robert F. Wagner (1910-1991). In 1997, the sculpture was restored with funding from the Times Square Business Improvement District.
Standing on the southern end of the triangle between 45th and 47th street, opposite Times Square, the inscription appropriately quotes his most famous song “give my regards to Broadway.”
(Source: www.nycgovparks.org/parks/father-duffy-square/monuments/282)
Andrzej Stasiuk - Polish prose writer, poet, playwright, essayist, publicist and publisher. He writes about time and transience, travel, love for forgotten corners of Europe.
Mural from the series "Faces of Literature".
Author Michał Arkusiński. Łódź, Poland
Thank you all for comments & faves :)
Playwright, screenwriter and actress Carla Scatarelli, in an old bar in Buenos Aires. Shot during a live class of my portrait workshop. We planned it this way together, as she so often writes in bars and cafés.
Lens: Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZF.
Artist, playwright, renaissance man.
Taken in my studio, March 2011.
Monolight camera right and behind subject left.
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde, 1854-1900. Irish poet and playwright.
Original black and white photo by Sarony, courtesy of The Library of Congress.
Max Afford, Australian playwright and novelist, Sydney, February 1954, photographed for People magazine, State Library of New South Wales ON 388/Box 040/Item 073 collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/nmQZxRon
Find below quotes at
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/moliere.html
Moliere, French Playwright
Date of Birth: January 15, 1622
Date of Death: February 17, 1673
A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool.
A lover tries to stand in well with the pet dog of the house.
A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation.
Ah! how annoying that the law doesn't allow a woman to change husbands just as one does shirts.
All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing.
All which is not prose is verse; and all which is not verse is prose.
As the purpose of comedy is to correct the vices of men, I see no reason why anyone should be exempt.
Books and marriage go ill together.
Don't appear so scholarly, pray. Humanize your talk, and speak to be understood.
Esteem must be founded on preference: to hold everyone in high esteem is to esteem nothing.
Every good act is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world to his fellows.
Frenchmen have an unlimited capacity for gallantry and indulge it on every occasion.
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
St. Augustine, author of the first Western autobiography.
Learn about his sinful and faith-filled life and works at
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Augustine
A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Matthew 24:42-51
In today's Gospel Jesus tells His disciples: "Stay awake!" (Matthew 24:42)
The briefness of the statement and the exclamation mark at the end leave no room for misunderstanding. It isn't a request or something that would be rather nice to do, but is instead, a command. As such, it implies dire consequences for those who would disobey.
In this case, it is being unprepared for the Lord's return as judge of the living and the dead; a time we might suppose, where we have run out of opportunities for another chance.
The thought is frightening—for what one of us doesn't think there will always be at least a little time to set things in better order, but Jesus says, in order to be ready, we must stay awake!
To stay awake beyond what we are accustomed is often exhausting if not altogether impossible. Yet, we are told, "Stay awake!" and not just sometimes, but always!
How much these few words make me realize how much we are in need of God's help—and that we already have it! When the Blessed Trinity resides in us as Triune Lord and King, He never sleeps! His are the eyes that watch, His the ears that hear, His the spirit that prays and adores on our behalf.
"Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42)
- Donna Nelson, OCDS | email: drn3rd@hughes.net
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below I got from
infoenglish@zenit.org
US Bishops: Pelosi Got Church Teaching Wrong
House Speaker Misrepresents Catholic Understanding of Life
WASHINGTON, D.C., AUG. 26, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The chairmen of the U.S. bishops' Committees on Pro-Life Activities and Doctrine affirmed that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi misrepresented Church teaching on abortion during an interview on national TV.
Pelosi was asked on NBC-TV's "Meet the Press" on Sunday to comment on when life begins. She responded saying that as a Catholic, she had studied the issue for "a long time" and that "the doctors of the Church have not been able to make that definition."
Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U. Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William Lori, chairman of the Committee on Doctrine, said her answer "misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion."
They noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law."
And the prelates explained: "In the Middle Ages, uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology led some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church's moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.
"These mistaken biological theories became obsolete over 150 years ago when scientists discovered that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. In keeping with this modern understanding, the Church teaches that from the time of conception -- fertilization -- each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life."
For the record
Other bishops also released statements clarifying Church teaching.
Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., noted that bishops are entrusted with the responsibility to interpret and teach Catholic doctrine.
"We respect the right of elected officials such as Speaker Pelosi to address matters of public policy that are before them, but the interpretation of Catholic faith has rightfully been entrusted to the Catholic bishops," he said in a statement. "Given this responsibility to teach, it is important to make this correction for the record. […]
"From the beginning, the Catholic Church has respected the dignity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death."
And from Denver, Archbishop Charles Chaput and Auxiliary Bishop James Conley addressed an online letter to their faithful, titled "On the Separation of Sense and State: a Clarification for the People of the Church in Northern Colorado."
The letter affirms: "Ardent, practicing Catholics will quickly learn from the historical record that from apostolic times, the Christian tradition overwhelmingly held that abortion was grievously evil. In the absence of modern medical knowledge, some of the Early Fathers held that abortion was homicide; others that it was tantamount to homicide; and various scholars theorized about when and how the unborn child might be animated or 'ensouled.'
"But none diminished the unique evil of abortion as an attack on life itself, and the early Church closely associated abortion with infanticide. In short, from the beginning, the believing Christian community held that abortion was always, gravely wrong."
Cardinal Edward Egan released a statement this morning saying he was "shocked to learn" of Pelosi's remarks. He said her statements were "misinformed."
The cardinal affirmed that the unborn have "an inalienable right to live, a right that the speaker of the House of Representatives is bound to defend at all costs for the most basic of ethical reasons."
"Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being 'chooses' to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason," he added, "should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name."
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On the Net:
Statement of Denver bishops: www.zenit.org/article-23469?l=english
Statement of Archbishop Wuerl: www.zenit.org/article-23470?l=english
Statement of Cardinal Egan: www.zenit.org/article-23476?l=english
EXPLORE # 404 on Thursday, August 28, 2008; # 440 on Thursday, September 11, 2008
John Brendan Keane (21 July 1928 – 30 May 2002) was an Irish playwright, novelist and essayist from Listowel, Kerry, Ireland
"from the family album: an intense close-up, of my grandmother Ninitta, here very young, in a studio photo taken by her father Gaetano D'Agata, assistant photographer of Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden"
“dall'album di famiglia: un intenso primo piano, di mia nonna Ninitta, qui molto giovane, in una foto da studio realizzata da suo padre Gaetano D'Agata, assistente fotografo del barone Wilhelm von Gloeden”
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The photographer Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden: and some "secret stories” of Taormina ...
At the age of about 11-12, I made a very particular discovery, I found a fair number of ancient photographs (they had been well hidden by my grandmother) inside an ancient chest of drawers in our house in Taormina, for me it was a huge surprise, the a taste for the forbidden appeared in me for the first time, they were black and white photographs, they portrayed naked boys, or only partially dressed in drapes or sheets, they were posed to imitate certain statues (or drawings) of the Greco-Roman period; I was very intrigued by them, every now and then I went to look at them, without ever feeling discomfort, I did not consider them vulgar photographs. Some of the photos were the size of a postcard, others of various sizes increasingly larger, up to a format similar to A3; on the back there were stamps, there were also, inside small red cardboard boxes, glass plates, not large, looking at them against the light, they let us glimpse images of naked boys, or only partially dressed: they were photographic negatives made on glass plates. What was that particular photographic material hidden by my grandmother in the dresser of our house? Let's take a step back in time let's teleport to April 2, 1787 when the German poet, narrator, playwright Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) lands in Palermo, following his Grand Tour in Italy (the word "tourism" derives from it) he will say of Sicily that it is a place of splendor, beauty and harmony, but at the same time a place of poverty, suffering, misery and social injustice; Goethe wrote the book "Journey to Italy", revealing himself to be one of Italy's most passionate admirers, stating that "Sicily is the key to everything" (the incredible resemblance of thought with the great Sicilian writer and journalist Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) who published in 1979 the book entitled “Sicily as a metaphor”). At the time of Goethe (and for a long time to come) the knowledge of Sicily was made up of stereotyped ideas, it was considered a land of mysteries, a den of brigands, which aroused fear in travelers, tourism did not exist, very few knew a foreign language, journeys with carriages were slow, nothing strange therefore that Taormina was an unknown village at the time. Garibaldi, in the year 1860, frees Sicily from the domination of the Bourbons. In February 1863, Count Ottone (Otto) Geleng (1843-1939) arrives in Taormina from Germany, he is a landscape painter, he begins an intense pictorial activity, thus succeeding in making Taormina and its landscapes known in the various cultural circles of Germany and France. Count Otto thus invites the then painter (who later became a photographer) Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) to come to Taormina to treat his "subtle ache", pulmonary tuberculosis, which would have benefited from the mild climate of Sicily. Von Gloeden, twenty-two, arrived in Taormina in 1878, became passionate about photography by taking lessons from the local engineer and photographer Giuseppe Bruno (1836-1904), perhaps also a teacher of Giovanni Crupi (1859-1925), landscape photographer friend of von Gloeden, Crupi himself could also have contributed to the training as a photographer of the young von Gloeden. Like Otto Geleng's paintings, the photographs of the young Wilhelm also began to entice the then bourgeoisie across the border to come to Sicily: in the last 20 years of the 1800s the foundations were being laid for tourism in Sicily. The photographs taken by von Gloeden had as their subject young Sicilian adolescents dressed in the old-fashioned way with drapes, or completely naked, at most adorned with wreaths of flowers or laurel leaves placed on their heads, the young models assumed well-studied poses under the directed by the photographer baron, designed to create scenes that wanted to reconstruct the atmosphere of the mythical Arcadia (bucolic landscape of ancient Greece). In his poetics we can find the interest in disguise and transvestism, the young fisherman is made ambiguous by making him wear a wig, made resembling a young Sicilian girl; the images are not produced for the sole and mere trade, they are works that will be published in various famous magazines (such as "The National Geographic Magazine" or "the photographic progress", A. Stieglitz publishes his nudes on “Camera Notes"), also participating in international photographic exhibitions. The young models are filmed among ancient ruins, in rocky environments, outdoors, eliciting a spiritual feeling full of nostalgia, which follows pictorial models of German romanticism. In the photographic book "Verga photographer" (created on the discovery of 327 glass plates and 121 celluloid frames), in Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) great Sicilian narrator, it is possible to observe his photographs interwoven with "realism", while in the photographs of von Gloeden the symbolism andthe spiritualism predominate, however Wilhelm will also produce documentary-type photographs, photographing the terrible earthquake (and tsunami) of Messina (and Reggio Calabria) of 1908. Von Gloeden seems fully integrated into the Taormina society , nevertheless suffers heavy homophobic attacks from the local press and from important characters from Taormina, including Otto Geleng himself, who will be sued by the baron, which will then be withdrawn upon payment of 896 lire, and a restorative declaration published in the "Gazzetta di Messina" . Von Gloeden worked in his house-studio in front of the Hotel San Domenico Palace, with him lived his sister Sofia Raabe (1847-1930), daughter of his mother's first husband, who helped him manage the house-studio, and in the to receive the illustrious guests who visited him (such as Oscar Wilde, FA Krupp, Richard Strauss, the German emperor Wilhelm II, Eleonora Duse). Von Gloeden died on February 16, 1931 at the age of 74, he was buried in the non-Catholic cemetery of Taormina, his heir was his all-around assistant Pancrazio Buciunì known as "il moro" (1879-1963) ("u 'moru", family nickname), which continues the activity, selling the prints: he undergoes two searches in full fascist regime with partial seizure and destruction of the photographic material that belonged to von Gloeden (fascism persecuted homosexuals, the repression of homosexuality was entrusted to the fascist police, which confined many homosexuals to the islands of the Mediterranean, Lipari was one of these, see the beautiful film by Ettore Scola "a special day"), Buciunì undergoes two trials for detention of obscene material, and, despite an adverse appraisal by the appointed expert prof. Stefano Bottari, holder of the chair of history of medieval and modern art at the University of Messina, who declares much of the seized material obscene, the Court of Messina, demonstrating tolerance and open-mindedness, acquits Buciunì. At this point in the story we return to my grandmother's dresser and reveal the little mystery: the hidden photographs belonged to my great-grandfather Don Gaetano D'Agata (1883-1949), von Gloeden's assistant photographer, also on the baron's teaching, he made nude photographs, as well as landscape or portrait photographs; Don Gaetano was a globetrotter, in our family album he is portrayed in various parts of the world, always in the company of beautiful women: but I will never know if those "forbidden photos" were taken by my great-grandfather Gaetano or by Von Gloeden himself, because my grandmother, having understood that I was going to peek at them in secret, made them disappear permanently, and I never heard anymore of that photographic material. For my part, it is only right to mention other figures who contributed to making Taormina the current destination for international tourism. Lady Florence Trevelyan (1852-1907), was Queen Victoria's lady-in-waiting, she was then sent into exile in various parts of the world by Queen herself, she arrived in Taormina and stayed there forever, she was a woman of exceptional gifts, endowed with great sensitivity and humanity, animal rights activist, philanthropist, passionate about esotericism, she was married to the then mayor and doctor of Taormina dr. Salvatore Cacciola, she were one of the first women admitted to world Freemasonry (her husband Cacciola also belonged to Freemasonry): I have already talked about it previously in one of my photographic stories. On the occasion of the XXI festival of the two worlds in Spoleto, in 1978, the essayist and literary critic Roland Barthes (1915-1980) curated an exhibition entitled "Wilhelm von Gloeden", with interventions by artists such as Andy Warhol, M. Pistoletto and J. Beuys. Finally, Raffaella Perna, Researcher in History of Contemporary Art at the University of Catania, underlines in her book on "Wilhelm von Gloeden, disguises, portraits, tableaux vivants", of how LaChapelle, Witkin, Mapplethorpe are the contemporary artists who they are indicated as heirs of von Gloeden's poetics.
P.S. Von Gloeden's photographs were made by photographing both the large panels with gigantographic reproductions of von Gloeden's works, which are located at the entrance of the Mocambo bar in Taormina, and in the shop-bazaar of the photographer from Taormina, my late friend, Nino Malmbrì (owner of the baron's original photographic material). The photographs of Gaetano D’Agata, were taken from my family album: in a photo a little damaged, but exceptional for its historical and emotional value, my great-grandfather, the photographer Gaetano D'Agata, here very young, holds his daughter "Ninitta" (a of the four children, had by three wives), she is my paternal grandmother; in another photo, the photographer Gaetano D'Agata poses next to her a few years later, with my grandmother already a young girl; always made by great-grandfather D'Agata there is both a portrait photo, a close-up, of my very young grandmother "Ninitta", and there is a photo of her posing as a peasant girl, with a painted backdrop behind her, as if used in studio photos; finally I put two photos taken by my great-grandfather Gaetano "en plein air" of bathers, "the location" is the beach of Mazzarò (Taormina). The photographs of the tombstones of the characters mentioned in the story were taken in the Catholic and non-Catholic cemetery of Taormina; the monumental funerary complex of Count Otto Geleng at the top presents the bust of his son Ermanno, the presence of symbolisms such as the hourglass, the rooster, the book (the Holy Bible) and the god mercury, makes me believe that Count Otto was part of the Masonic lodge of Taormina, at the time the mayor of Taormina was also part of it, dr. Cacciola and his wife Lady Florence Trevelyan: in his palace, Dr. Cacciola, built a temple, which became the first Masonic lodge in Taormina: the "Renaissance" (1904).
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Il barone fotografo Wilhelm von Gloeden: ed alcune “storie segrete” di Taormina …
Io, all’età di circa 11-12 anni, feci una scoperta molto particolare, trovai un discreto numero di antiche fotografie (erano state ben nascoste da mia nonna) dentro un antico comò in casa nostra a Taormina, per me fu una enorme sorpresa, il gusto del proibito si affacciò in me per la prima volta, erano fotografie in bianco e nero, ritraevano ragazzi nudi, o solo in parte vestiti con drappi o lenzuoli, messi in posa imitavano certe statue (o disegni) del periodo greco-romano; io ne ero rimasto molto incuriosito, ogni tanto le andavo a riguardare, senza mai provare disagio, non le consideravo fotografie volgari. Alcune foto erano della grandezza di una cartolina, altre di varie dimensioni sempre più grandi, fino ad arrivare ad un formato assimilabile all’A3; sul retro c’erano impressi dei timbri, c’erano anche, dentro dei piccoli scatoli in cartoncino di colore rosso, delle lastrine in vetro, non grandi, guardandole in controluce, lasciavano intravedere immagini di ragazzi nudi, o poco vestiti: erano i negativi fotografici realizzati su vetro. Cosa ci faceva quel materiale fotografico, così particolare, nascosto da mia nonna nel comò di casa nostra? Facciamo un salto indietro nel tempo teletrasportiamoci al 2 aprile 1787 quando a Palermo sbarca il poeta, narratore, drammaturgo tedesco Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), in seguito al suo Grand Tour in Italia (turismo deriva da esso) dirà della Sicilia che essa è luogo di splendore, bellezza ed armonia, ma al tempo stesso luogo di povertà, sofferenza, miseria ed ingiustizia sociale; Goethe scrive il libro “Viaggio in Italia”, rivelandosi uno dei più appassionati ammiratori dell’Italia, affermando che “la Sicilia è la chiave di tutto” (incredibile la rassomiglianza di pensiero col grande scrittore e giornalista siciliano Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) che pubblica nel 1979 il libro dal titolo “la Sicilia come metafora”). Ai tempi di Goethe (e per molto tempo ancora) la conoscenza della Sicilia era fatta di idee stereotipate, era considerata terra di misteri, covo di briganti, il che incuteva timore nei viaggiatori, il turismo non esisteva, pochissimi conoscevano una lingua straniera, i viaggi con carrozze ertano lenti, nulla di strano quindi che Taormina fosse all’epoca un villaggio sconosciuto. Garibaldi, nell’anno 1860, libera la Sicilia dalla dominazione dei Borboni. Nel febbraio del 1863, dalla Germania giunge a Taormina il conte Ottone (Otto) Geleng (1843-1939), egli è un pittore paesaggista, inizia una intensa attività pittorica, riuscendo in tal modo a far conoscere Taormina ed i suoi paesaggi nei vari circoli culturali della Germania e della Francia. Il conte Otto invita così l’allora pittore (poi divenuto fotografo) barone Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931) a venire a Taormina per curare il suo “mal sottile”, la tubercolosi polmonare, che avrebbe tratto giovamento dal clima mite della Sicilia. Von Gloeden, ventiduenne, nel 1878 giunge a Taormina, si appassiona alla fotografia prendendo lezioni dall’ingegnere e fotografo locale Giuseppe Bruno (1836-1904), forse anche insegnante di Giovanni Crupi (1859-1925), fotografo paesaggista amico di von Gloeden, il quale Crupi stesso potrebbe anche aver contribuito alla formazione come fotografo del giovane von Gloeden. Così come i dipinti di Otto Geleng, anche le fotografie del giovane Wilhelm incominciarono ad invogliare l’allora borghesia d’oltre confine, a venire in Sicilia: negli ultimi 20 anni dell’800 si stavano gettando le basi per il turismo in Sicilia. Le fotografie realizzate da von Gloeden avevano come soggetto giovani adolescenti siciliani vestiti all’antica con drappi, o completamente nudi, tutt’al più adornati da coroncine di fiorellini o foglie d’alloro messi sul capo, i giovani modelli assumevano pose ben studiate sotto la regia del barone fotografo, atte a realizzare scene che volevano ricostruire l’atmosfera della mitica Arcadia (paesaggio bucolico dell’antica Grecia). Nella sua poetica possiamo riscontrare l’interesse per il travestimento ed il travestitismo, il giovane pescatore viene reso ambiguo facendogli indossare una parrucca, reso somigliante ad una giovane ragazza siciliana; le immagini non vengono prodotte per il solo e mero commercio, sono opere che verranno pubblicate su varie riviste famose (come “The National Geographic Magazine” o “Il Progresso fotografico”, A. Stieglitz pubblica i suoi nudi su “Camera Notes”), partecipando anche ad esposizioni fotografiche internazionali. I giovani modelli sono ripresi tra antichi ruderi, in ambienti rupestri, all’aperto, elicitando un sentimento spirituale carico di nostalgia, il che ricalca modelli pittorici del romanticismo tedesco. Nel libro fotografico “Verga fotografo” (realizzato su ritrovamento di 327 lastre in vetro e 121 fotogrammi in celluloide), in Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) grande narratore siciliano, è possibile osservare le sue fotografie intessute di “verismo”, mentre nelle fotografie di von Gloeden predomina il simbolismo e lo spiritualismo, purtuttavia Wilhelm produrrà anch’egli fotografie di tipo documentaristico, andando a fotografare il terribile terremoto (e maremoto) di Messina (e di Reggio Calabria) del 1908. Von Gloeden sembra pienamente integrato nella società taorminese, ciononostante subisce pesanti attacchi omofobi dalla stampa locale e da importanti personaggi taorminesi, incluso lo stesso Otto Geleng, i quali verranno querelati dal barone, querela che verrà poi ritirata dietro pagamento di 896 lire, ed una dichiarazione riparatoria pubblicata sulla “Gazzetta di Messina”. Von Gloeden lavorava nella sua casa-studio di fronte l’Hotel San Domenico Palace, con lui viveva sua sorella Sofia Raabe (1847-1930), figlia del primo marito di sua madre, che lo aiutava a governare la casa-studio, e nel ricevere gli illustri ospiti che lo andavano a trovare ( come Oscar Wilde, F.A. Krupp, Richard Strauss, l’imperatore tedesco Guglielmo II, Eleonora Duse). Von Gloeden muore il 16 febbraio 1931 all’età di 74 anni, viene sepolto nel cimitero acattolico di Taormina, il suo erede è il suo assistente tutto fare Pancrazio Buciunì detto “il moro” (1879-1963) (“u’ moru”, soprannome di famiglia), che ne prosegue l’attività, vendendone le stampe: il quale subisce in pieno regime fascista due perquisizioni con parziale sequestro e distruzione del materiale fotografico che apparteneva a von Gloeden (il fascismo perseguitò gli omosessuali, la repressione dell’omosessualità fu affidata alla polizia fascista, che confinò molti omosessuali nelle isole del mediterraneo, Lipari fu una di queste, vedi il bellissimo film di Ettore Scola “una giornata particolare”), Buciunì subisce due processi per detenzione di materiale osceno, e, nonostante una perizia avversa da parte del nominato perito prof. Stefano Bottari, titolare della cattedra di storia dell’arte medioevale e moderna dell’Università di Messina, che dichiara osceno gran parte del materiale sequestrato, il Tribunale di Messina dimostrando tolleranza ed apertura mentale, assolve il Buciunì. A questo punto del racconto ritorniamo al comò di mia nonna e sveliamo il piccolo mistero: le fotografie nascoste appartenevano al mio bisnonno don Gaetano D’Agata (1883-1949), assistente fotografo di von Gloeden, anch’egli sull’insegnamento del barone, realizzò fotografie di nudo, oltre che di paesaggio o ritratto; don Gaetano era un giramondo, nel nostro album di famiglia lui è ritratto in varie parti del mondo, sempre in compagnia di belle donne: ma io non saprò mai se quelle “foto proibite” erano realizzate dal mio bisnonno Gaetano o da Von Gloeden stesso, perché mia nonna, avendo capito che le andavo a sbirciare di nascosto, le fece sparire definitivamente, e di quel materiale fotografico non ne seppi più nulla. Da parte mia, è doveroso citare altre figure che contribuirono a rendere Taormina l’attuale meta del turismo internazionale. Lady Florence Trevelyan (1852-1907), era dama di corte della regina Vittoria, dalla stessa regina Lady Florence fu poi mandata in esilio in varie parti del mondo, giunse a Taormina e qui vi restò per sempre, era una donna dalle doti eccezionali, dotata di grande sensibilità ed umanità, animalista, filantropa, appassionata di esoterismo, fu sposa dell’allora sindaco e medico di Taormina dott. Salvatore Cacciola, fu una delle prime donne ammesse alla massoneria mondiale (apparteneva alla massoneria anche il marito Cacciola): ne ho già parlato in precedenza in un mio racconto fotografico. Robert Hawthorn Kitson (1873-1947) era un pittore britannico omosessuale, egli lasciò l’Inghilterra a causa dell’emendamento Labouchere, che rendeva illegale qualsiasi atto omosessuale nel Regno Unito (1885), giunse a Taormina e qui si stabilì, costruendo nel 1905 Casa Cusani, una villa con vista sull’Etna, oggi casa museo; nella sua sala da pranzo si trovano gli affreschi “proibiti” realizzati da Frank Brangwyn, essi narrano dell’amore omosessuale tra Kitson ed il suo compagno Carlo Siligato: nel 1908 in seguito al terremoto che distrusse Messina (e Reggio Calabria), essi adottarono un bambino che era rimasto orfano, divenendo di fatto una famiglia omosessuale, all’epoca assolutamente proibita; gli affreschi di Casa Cuseni sono ispirati alle fotografie di von Gloeden, così come nella villa, si trova una “autocromia a colori” del 1910, realizzata da von Gloeden, documento eccezionale che testimonia la volontà del barone di sperimentare nuove tecniche. In occasione del XXI festival dei due mondi di Spoleto, nel 1978, il saggista e critico letterario Roland Barthes (1915-1980) cura una mostra intitolata “Wilhelm von Gloeden”, con interventi di artisti quali Andy Warhol, M. Pistoletto e J. Beuys. Infine, Raffaella Perna, Ricercatrice in Storia dell'arte contemporanea all'Università degli Studi di Catania, sottolinea nel suo libro su “Wilhelm von Gloeden, travestimenti, ritratti, tableaux vivants”, di come LaChapelle, Witkin, Mapplethorpe siano gli artisti contemporanei che vengono indicati come eredi della poetica di von Gloeden.
P.S. le fotografie di Von Gloeden sono state realizzate fotografando sia i grandi pannelli con gigantografiche riproduzioni delle opere di von Gloeden, che si trovano all’ingresso del bar Mocambo di Taormina, sia nel negozio-bazar del fotografo taorminese, compianto mio amico, Nino Malmbrì (possessore di materiale fotografico originale del barone). Le fotografie di Gaetano D’Agata, sono state prese dal mio album di famiglia: in una foto un pò rovinata, ma eccezionale per il suo valore storico e per me affettivo, il mio bisnonno, il fotografo Gaetano D'Agata, qui molto giovane, tiene in braccio sua figlia "Ninitta" (una dei quattro figli, avuti da tre mogli), lei è la mia nonna paterna; in un'altra foto, il fotografo Gaetano D'Agata posa accanto a lei qualche anno dopo, con mia nonna già ragazzina; sempre realizzate dal bisnonno D'Agata c'è sia un foto-ritratto, un primo piano, di mia nonna "Ninitta" molto giovane, e c'è la foto di lei mentre posa come contadinella, con dietro un fondale dipinto, come si usava nelle foto da studio; infine ho messo, due foto realizzate dal mio bisnonno Gaetano "en plein air" a delle bagnanti, "la location" è la spiaggia di Mazzarò (Taormina). Le fotografie delle tombe dei personaggi menzionati nel racconto, sono state fatte nel cimitero cattolico ed acattolico di Taormina; il complesso monumentale funerario del conte Otto Geleng in alto presenta il mezzobusto del figlio Ermanno, la presenza di simbolismi come la clessidra, il gallo, il libro (la Sacra Bibbia) ed il dio mercurio, mi fa ritenere che il conte Otto facesse parte della loggia massonica di Taormina, all’epoca ne faceva parte anche il sindaco di Taormina, dott. Cacciola e sua moglie Lady Florence Trevelyan: nel suo palazzo il dott. Cacciola, realizzò un tempio, che divenne la prima loggia massonica di Taormina : la "Rinascimento"(1904).