"The shell must break before the bird can fly.”
― Alfred Lord Tennyson

As I continue to live my life like a bee in a bottle, my beloved life partner sat me down the other day to suggest that I should think long and hard about the time commitment of each project before I take it on. The problem is that all the projects I’m juggling are so wonderful and exciting. For instance, I’m thrilled to have received a second Maryland State Arts Council grant, this one to underwrite a reworking of Richard Strauss’s “melodrama” for narrator and piano, Enoch Arden.

For some time now, I’ve been collaborating with the wonderful and beautiful Brooklyn-based cellist, Molly Aronson, on Music in Words. We curate programs that combine words and music over a wide spectrum of subjects—from highlighting an art exhibition to commemorating All Saints Day. Enter Enoch Arden.

Some years back, I performed Richard Strauss’s work in its original piano and narrator version with the phenomenally gifted pianist, John Naumann. It is an inspiring work, and it occurred to me that it would be great to have a version to perform with a more “portable” instrumentation that didn’t require dependency on a venue with a high-quality piano. So I asked Molly if she would arrange it for violin and cello accompaniment.

Watercolor painting of Enoch Arden by George Goodwin Kilburne (1839–1924)

Strauss’s composition was inspired by Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s narrative poem. If you’re not immediately familiar with it, the poem tells the heartrending story of a sailor who returns home after years of absence to find his wife remarried. It lends its name to the Enoch Arden law, which addresses situations where a spouse remarries after their original partner has been absent for an extended period and is presumed dead. As I say, heartrending, and Strauss’s rendering of the poem is exquisite. Watch this space for more news about the adaptation, publication, future performances, and (fingers crossed) recording! So, you see what I mean about exciting projects.

I also spent a good part of April recording the audiobook for The Deceived Ones. That came out on the one-year anniversary of the original pub date on May 7, and is now widely available on audiobook platforms like Libro.fm, Audible, Googleplay, Spotify, Chirp, and so on. In May, the print version was named a Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award in the Small, Academic & Independent Press category. Meanwhile, the book tour wound down in April with a flurry of events: Reston Readings at Reston's Used Book Shop in Virginia; a panel discussion at Morgan State University; an online craft workshop for the Eastern Shore Writers Association (ESWA); a panel discussion for the annual CityLit Festival; a presentation for the Three Arts Club in Homeland; and a panel discussion at Bird in Hand café & bookstore in Charles Village. whew

Happily, there are a few bonus events still cropping up, like a joint book reading and discussion at Red Emma’s at 7 PM on Wednesday, June 25 with Baltimore-born, Pennsylvania-based writer Art Young (who is also from the stable of Apprentice House Press); and a tangentially related lecture called Shakespeare Repurposed from 2 – 3:30 PM on Sunday, July 6 at the Chautauqua Institute in Western New York (the QR code will take you directly to the Chautauqua booking site, on the off-chance you're going to be in the area!)

Details of these upcoming events are on my (new) website. And that’s another project that’s been taking up time—setting up my website on Tertulia. In addition to being an online co-op bookstore, Tertulia has recently launched Websites for Authors, which takes a lot of the daunting bells-and-whistles aspect out of building a website. It might not be quite as sleek as, say, Squarespace, but I actually like the no-mess-no-fuss aspect of it, and the personal, one-on-one support is exceptional.

And then there’s always WBJC, where I get to curate five hours of music a day and interview fabulous artists. A highlight recently was the Norwegian pianist, Leif Ove Andsnes, who played in Baltimore for the first time in 25 years. He’s often my go-to pianist when I’m programming, and it turns out he’s every bit as lovely as a person as he is as a performer. Take a listen here (it’s just four minutes.)

I have been playing a little, too. En route to spend a week at Millstream on the escarpment east of Johannesburg, we visited The Courtauld in London to see an exhibition called Goya to Impressionism from the collection of the Swiss arts patron, Oskar Reinhart; and to spend a marvelous evening with our beloved “Boys,” Pete and Tone.

The next day, we ventured down the Thames to have lunch with Siva Oke, who is the heart and soul of the award-winning indie CD label, SOMM Recordings, for which I write Sales Notes with pleasure. Not only was it wonderful to meet Siva, we stayed in The Mitre Hotel, literally across the road from Hampton Court, so we could visit Henry VIII’s old haunts and stroll along the Thames.

With Memorial Day behind us, we have unofficially started the summer season in the U.S., where we soldier on as best we can. I hope your summer/winter will be full of good things.

Take care!

THE VISIONARY DESIGNER CLAIRE MCCARDELL ON BOOKNOTES