Mid-Week Libation: All Night Long
The voice of Chavela Vargas, Navajo Steamed Corn Stew from Justin Pioche, Shannon Taylor’s miniature compact dioramas, a poem by Augusta Cooper Bristol and our excitement about Season 4 of We're Here!
Mid-Week Libation is our weekly curated splash of inspiration and culture! Click above to listen to this weeks’ audio segment!
Celebrating Legendary Ranchera Singer Chavela Vargas! (April 17, 1919 – August 5, 2012)
Also, check out the superb 2017 documentary about her life - Chavela! (Click here for links to watch/stream/rent on multiple platforms.)
Recipe of the Week: Navajo Steamed Corn Stew from Chef Justin Pioche (via Indigenous Food Lab)
“Come watch with us and learn how to make Traditional Navajo Steamed Corn Stew with Justin Pioche! A wonderful recipe that has so much history and knowledge surrounding the cultural preservation of Indigenous corn while also being highly nourishing.” [Source]
A Chef Sensation on the Navajo Nation: Diné chef Justin Pioche earned one of the country’s most coveted culinary honors. He serves a lot more than food. (via Searchlight New Mexico)
Shannon Taylor’s Miniature Compact Dioramas!
Click on the images below to see the video reels of what’s inside!
Stunning Scenes Made from Paper Unfold in Shannon Taylor’s Miniature Compact Dioramas (via Colossal)
Poem of the Week: “Night” by Augusta Cooper Bristol (April 17, 1835 – May 9, 1910)
Night
by Augusta Cooper Bristol
I stood and watched the still, mysterious Night,
Steal from her shadowy caverns in the East,
To work her deep enchantments on the world.
Her black veil floated down the silent glens,
While her dark sandalled feet, with noiseless tread,
Moved to a secret harmony. Along
The brows of the majestic hills, she strung
Her glorious diamonds so stealthily,
It never marred their dreams; and in the deep,
Cool thickets of the wood, where scarce the Day
Could reach the dim retreat, her dusky hand
Pinned on the breast of the exhaling flower,
A glittering gem; while all the tangled ferns
And forest lace-work, as she moved along,
Grew moist and shining.
Who would e'er have guessed,
The queenly Night would deign to stoop and love
A little flower! And yet, with all her stealth,
I saw her press her damp and cooling lip
Upon the feverish bosom of a Rose;
At which a watchful bird poured sudden forth
A love-sick song, of sweet and saddest strain.
Upon the ivied rocks, and rugged crags
On which the ocean billows break, she hung
Her sombre mantle; and the gray old sea
That had been high in tumult all the day,
Became so mesmerized beneath her wiles,
He seemed a mere reflection of herself.
The billows sank into a dimpled sleep;
Only the little tide-waves glided up
To kiss the blackness of the airy robe
That floated o'er them.
Long I stood and watched
The mystic, spell-like influence of Night;
Till o'er the eastern hills, came up the first
Faint glories of the crown that Phoebus wears.
And soon, the Earth, surprised to see the work
That Night had wrought, began to glow and blush,
Like maidens, conscious of the glance of Love.
While she, — the dark Enchantress, — like to one
Who decorates her bower with all things fair,
Wherewith to please her lover, but yet flees
At his approaching step, — at the first gleam
That lit the zenith from the Day-god's eye,
Fled timid o'er the distant western hills.Anticipation! Season 4 of We're Here Premieres Next Week (Friday, April 26th) on HBO & HBO Max!
Interesting Artists Born Today: April 17th
Visual Artists:
Today is the birthday of Katharine Kimball, Léon-Victor Solon, Nell Brooker Mayhew, Edmundo Prati, George Keyt, Santos Zingale, Eliot Elisofon, Regina Ghazaryan, Sunil Janah, Carol Rama, Joan Warburton, Norman Potter, Earl Norem, Wesley Wehr, Harold Feinstein, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Alice Dalton Brown, Marilyn Druin, Mascha Mioni, Sherrie Levine, Henny Garfunkel, Deborah Rubin, Barbara Prey, Peter Doig, Michael Birawer, Rosza Daniel Lang/Levitsky and Jillian Tamaki!
Writers, Philosophers & Scholars:
Today is the birthday of Thomas Vaughan, Henry Vaughan, Eliza Acton, Susan Fenimore Cooper, Augusta Cooper Bristol, Isak Dinesen, Thornton Wilder, Edmonde Charles-Roux, Althea T. L. Simmons, Donald Richie, Cynthia Ozick, Mariama Bâ, Kerry Wendell Thornley, Irena Klepfisz, Erín Moure, Nick Hornby and Chris Campanioni!
Musicians & Composers:
Today is the birthday of Artur Schnabel, Johnny St. Cyr, Chavela Vargas, Graciela Rivera, James Last, Chris Barber, Adolphus Hailstork, Buster Williams, Han Bennink, Jan Hammer, Erkan Oğur, Michael Sembello, Pete Shelley, Mark Sherman, Maynard James Keenan, Liz Phair, Matt Chamberlain and Redman!
Film/TV/Stage:
Today is the birthday of Señor Wences, William Holden, Genevieve, Lindsay Anderson, Reza Badiyi, David Bradley, Rose Rosenblatt, L. Scott Caldwell, Olivia Hussey, Joe Alaskey, Elizabeth Kapuʻuwailani Lindsey, Sean Bean, Lela Rochon, Vikram, Henry Ian Cusick and Jennifer Garner!
This Week’s Words of Wisdom: Chavela Vargas (April 17, 1919 – August 5, 2012)
