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

AI Outperforms Doctors in Emergency Room Tasks, New Harvard Study Shows

Researchers say the technology could help physicians with triage, diagnosis.

Ask a Harvard Professor with Rebecca Henderson

How to reform capitalism to confront climate change and extreme inequality, with economist and McArthur University Professor Rebecca Henderson

Why Is Silicon Valley Turning Conservative?

At the Harvard Kennedy School, Van Jones analyzes how Democrats lost the tech industry’s vote.

Explore More From Current Issue

Katie Benzan stands on a basketball court holding a ball, with a hoop in the background.

How Women Are Changing the NBA

From coaching staffs to front offices, female leaders are bringing new strategies to men’s basketball.

White House and Harvard University buildings split diagonally with contrasting colors.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

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

Portrait of a man with white hair, wearing a black coat, arms crossed, thoughtful expression.

The Framer Who Refused to Sign the Constitution

Harvard’s Elbridge Gerry helped draft the U.S. Constitution, but worried it might create a new monarch.