At the Foote of the Queen

Love your flaws, fears and scary frontiers – after Brezsney.

It's the 105th birthday (1916 in Greenville, Mississippi) of Shelby Foote and the 463rd anniversary (1558) of the ascension to the throne of England by Elizabeth I. Elizabeth reigned for 45 years of relative peace, and, among other matters reopened the theatres providing Shakespeare (and many others) renewed access to venues for creative expression. Foote, a novelist, also penned the three-volume, near 3,000 page narrative history of the American Civil War, three and four words at a time with an antique pen dipped in ink (so I’m told). He was also a major contributor to Ken Burns video history “The Civil War.”

History, like a poem, might best be written slowly, without fear of critics.