"Miss Post" Recently Said that I am the Gothiest Prep She's Ever Met

On Saturday morning, which just so happened to be the first time in a week that Bostonians had seen the sun, JR and I met up with a few of her friends and visited the Boston Athenaeum to see Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey. It was a fantastic exhibit of Gorey's work, including: illustrations from his books, set and costume designs from theater productions, and a series of watercoloured envelopes from letters he had sent to his mother that looked like something out of Monty Python. I have loved Edward Gorey's artwork since Mrs. Fay, our elementary school librarian, introduced my class to The Shrinking of Treehorn by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Edward Gorey. The story was funny, but the drawings were what I'd remember most.

Over the years, I have collected a lot of Gorey's books, and I have collected or been given a quite a bit of Gorey memorabilia over the years: calendars, magnets, and even a Dracula toy theater (thanks, PunkRockMom!). I even have a signed copy of one of his books that I bought in Chatham the summer after he died. It wasn't until seeing this exhibit, however, that I realized how much the images reproduced in some of the books (the Amphigoreys in particular) are lacking in quality in comparison to the originals. They are so delicate and meticulous; it was like looking at some images I have known forever for the very first time. This was a wonderful way to spend a morning.

JR and I then took a walk through the Common, and after we went our separate ways, I walked over to the King's Chapel Burying Ground. I had never actually been IN that particular cemetery, and, as it is the oldest one in Boston, with graves dating back to the mid-17th century, I wanted to check it out. It didn't disappoint; there were some really interesting and unique stones, some of which have held up remarkably well despite the New England weather.





Cool Anglo historical thing I learned while I was there: King's Chapel was built in 1688 on land next to the already established burial ground because the Puritan city fathers didn't want to sell the Anglicans any land to build a church. During the War of American Independence, the Chapel was called the "Stone Chapel".

It was a great day for walking around in town. Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to live in Boston! (Although, if I had lived during the 17th century, the Puritans would SO have kicked me out of Boston. Probably would have ended up in Connecticut!)