Good afternoon,

This lovely poem both reminded me of the summer and introduced me to the work of Louise Glück, who in fact and according to the below link “has a gift for getting the reader to imagine with her, drawing on the power of her audience to be amazed”. I first read this in the newsletter Pome. If you are not already subscribed to this,  I cannot recommend it highly enough. The poem, and a link about Glück herself, follow:

from Happiness

I open my eyes; you are watching me.

Almost over this room

the sun is gliding.

Look at your face, you say,

holding your own close to me

to make a mirror.

How calm you are. And the burning wheel

passes gently over us.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/louise-gluck

More poetry, and also more summer (even if the Canterbury Tales are spring really). I didn’t know a lot about the Wife Of Bath’s tale, and now I know a bit more, thank you to this Wikipedia entry with such headings as “Critique of antifeminism”, “Female dominance” and “Sex and Lollardy”:

Alisoun, in particular, does not behave as she should in any of her marriages. […] Carruthers’ essay outlines the existence of deportment books, the purpose of which was to teach young women how to be model wives. Carruthers notes how Alisoun's behaviour in the first of her marriages “is almost everything the deportment-book writers say it should not be”. For example, she lies to her old husbands about them getting drunk and saying some regrettable things.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wife_of_Bath's_Tale

Plus Chaucer’s works are well out of copyright so you can read this fun tale today:

Husbands at the church door have I had five

For I so often have y-wedded be,

And all were worthy men in their degree.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2383/pg2383-images.html

Happy Friday!

Alex.