Well, as you've probably heard by now, Ruth Lilly has passed away. Not only was she a huge supporter of poetry, but apparently she wrote a little herself. In 1939, she landed a few poems in the New York Times. Well, technically, someone under the name of "R. Lyly" landed the poems, but as far as pseudonyms go, that's a pretty thin veil. That's like me going by Ryan-bay Uruness-Fay.

Here's a cut from one of her pieces:

From “Retrospect”

Had I surmised what weather would betray
my giant peonies and winking limes,
what crows would annotate my inch of day,
what hell would clatter in the gnomish climes
I never would have shrugged and relegated
my vial of wisdom to a fickle wave . .

By the way, if you want a vial of wisdom, Lilly urges you to ask your doctor about Athenigen©.

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Possible Vonnegut library in Indianapolis?

Three of Kurt Vonnegut’s children are working with local fans of the famed author to open a memorial library in Indianapolis.

“This is the only endeavor like this,” said Donald C. Farber, a New York lawyer who is executor of Vonnegut’s estate and a close friend. “And it’s in Indianapolis, where it should be.”

Vonnegut fans from around the country have found the Web site, www.vonnegutlibrary.org, and sent in donations.

Thanks to JL Kato's blog for pointing me to the last two items.

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Aaaaaand, finally, here's proof that God loves irony:

With the recession, shoplifting is on the rise, according to booksellers. At BookPeople in Austin, Tex., the rate of theft has increased to approximately one book per hour. I asked Steve Bercu, BookPeople’s owner, what the most frequently stolen title was.

“The Bible,” he said, without pausing.

Apparently the thieves have not yet read the “Thou shalt not steal” part — or maybe they believe that Bibles don’t need to be paid for. “Some people think the word of God should be free,” Bercu said. As it turns out, Bibles are snatched even at the Parable Christian Store in Springfield, Ore., the manager told me, despite the fact that if a person asks for a Bible, they’ll be given a copy without charge.

I'm pretty sure that Vonnegut would have loved that story, too.