Chapter & Verse

Sheila Berg would like a source for a quotation she heard at the time of John Kennedy Jr.'s death that spoke of sand and pebbles...

Sheila Berg would like a source for a quotation she heard at the time of John Kennedy Jr.'s death that spoke of sand and pebbles on the beach and Truro.

Ann Mantell seeks a Sylvia Townsend Warner story that ends, "If Nannie Blount had had her will of me, I should have watched this hell-fire sunset with different eyes. As it was, I saw it as being exactly like the pain in my throat."

"The magical mouse" (November-December). Dorothy Helfand identified the slightly misquoted opening lines of this poem by Kenneth Patchen, published in Orchards, Thrones, and Caravans (1952) and reprinted in The Collected Poems of Kenneth Patchen (1967).

"A fragrance...happy living things" (November-December). John C. Murray was the first of many readers to identify the two couplets that appear toward the conclusion of Edna St. Vincent Millay's early poem "Renascence."

"Tell me....Show me....Involve me...." (November-December). Julie Reiff reported that an Internet search turned up Cole's Quotables, which identified the proverb--without attribution--as Chinese, not Native American, in origin.

Most popular

A former Harvard College writing tutor changes her mind on LLMs.

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex. 

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Smiling woman stands beside a large skull in a display cabinet.

From competing in youth gymnastics to studying tetrapods, the Harvard curator has always chased her curiosity.

A flooded office scene with computers, a woman working, and a pink sunset backdrop.

A College student’s attempt to recapture the romanticism of the workplace.

A smiling elderly man in glasses sits comfortably in a striped armchair.

Plus, veteran higher education leader Thomas Ehrlich reflects on university curricula for his 70th reunion