Chapter & Verse

Fred Wegener seeks sources for "more given to the arts than to warfare" and "tremors sent below by breezes striking the higher...

Fred Wegener seeks sources for "more given to the arts than to warfare" and "tremors sent below by breezes striking the higher sails," and identification of the poem alluded to in this passage: "that avenging lightning which groped for the lovers in the horrible poem he had once read aloud to her...as they lay stretched under Italian stone-pines."

 

Roger Sharpe is looking for a story, perhaps from Hermann Hesse, in which a character reaches for a ripened strawberry as he falls from a cliff. The text adds, "They say he said it was delicious."

 

Edward Levin asks the source of "You may want a span of horses for plowin' and all the rest,/But when it comes to courtin', why a single hoss is best."

 

Mel Tukey requests a source for "Always when strawberries ripen/On a northern slope in Maine,/I shall be crouching beside you/In faded gingham again...."

 

"Clay...life; plaster, death; marble, immortality" (July-August). Scottish poet, printer, and artist Ian Hamilton Findlay attributed this saying to Italian sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822) in producing his own variant, a 1987 untitled "folding print" in which "the revolution" replaces "immortality," writes Molly Schwartzburg, who found the image in a 1997 collection of Findlay's works: Prints 1963-1997: German Druckgrafik (Cantz Verlag).

 

Send inquiries and answers to "Chapter and Verse," Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138.          

Most popular

Meet Harvard’s 2026 Student Commencement Speakers

Two undergraduates and a Ph.D. candidate will address the graduating class on May 28.

Ronny Chieng Tells Harvard to ‘Destroy AI’ as Graduates Cheer

The comedian and The Daily Show host gave the keynote address for Class Day 2026.

Harvard Elects New Overseers, HAA Directors

Leaders for the governing board and alumni association were chosen by an alumni vote.

Explore More From Current Issue

A glowing orange sun with a star and a trailing gas cloud in space.

A Harvard Astrophysicist Explains the Bizarre Behavior of a Supergiant Star

The dimming and rapid rotation of Betelgeuse may be caused by a hidden companion.

Brick archway with a sandy base, surrounded by wooden planks and boxes in a dim space.

How the American Revolution Freed a Future Abolitionist

Darby Vassall, an enslaved child freed after the Battle of Bunker Hill, dedicated his life to fighting for liberty.

Three joyful graduates in caps and gowns celebrate together outdoors.

Your Harvard 2026 Commencement Week Guide

College reunions and Alumni Day will take place the following week