the man who went away...

in light of leaving town sunday morning for a five week residency in marfa texas, i figured it was a good time to share these two postcards, each featuring one of harold bell wright's temporary writing studios.

aside from their reference to working in non-city temporary digs amidst nature, anyone who visits the blog regularly knows i have a soft spot for objects residing within the intersection of the homespun and the modern. i'm not sure if bell wright designed and/or built these beautiful things himself, but regardless of who did the design work, they are awkward and wonderful in all the right places (and yes, i could've titled this post "when circus tents meet straw bail houses").

my introduction to bell wright came a few months ago, through the discovery of the following quote, which comes from his book "the man who went away" - an out of print novel that i'm still trying to find for under $100...

"from a bewildered frightened, money-mad, war-crazed world this man - the creature of his little materialistic day - had come into the vast tranquility of 'hempsted forest'. in this place of the redwood, he sensed time not as men greedily measure their hurried hours, but as it is - measureless - holding the infinite past, the present, and the infinite future as one. the silence of these primeval groves was the silence of that mystery from which which all life issues."

bell wright's studio forms and silent primeval trees seemed a nice little parting note to let you know my postings will probably be sporadic for the next month or so, as i will be seeking days filled with a similar silence...