Christmas Poison??

Amongst my most interesting presents this year was one from my cousin, The Little Book of Venom, which is a book of historical insults from historical figures. (I'm not exactly sure what she's trying to say, hahaha.)

Interestingly, while the book consists of chapters of topics (i.e., On Art, or On Music), the section entitled On Writers is the longest chapter in the book. By far!

It seems that historically speaking, anyway, what (or who) is "good" and what is intolerable has been a major bone of contention in literature. And I guess that's not surprising. Needless to say, the romantics took a lot of flak in this book (most particularly, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley), and even Shakespeare is reviled by some of the notables quoted in the book. (In this day and age, would any of us dare to take on Shakespeare? I think not.)

None of the quotes are regarding or from our own contemporaries. I suppose one day there will be a 22nd Century version of a Little Book of Venom and I'm betting it will contain quotes on some of our current notables, like King, Oates, Updike, and even Dan Brown -- if Brown doesn't simply sink into oblivion. See, there's some venom now!

Maybe someday I'll post some of the zingers.

I hope you all found inspiration under the mistletoe, or under the tree, or wrapped up in a stocking, or even just chillin' in the cold air outside.

Thanks for reading,

LLB