The literary charms of May

Words from Joan Didion, Emily Dickinson and Linda Pastan & the beauty of impermanence.

Portrait with still life, George Telfer Bear, photograph via Equator Journal (source unknown), above text from a letter Emily Dickinson wrote on May 1, 1883, Hyazinthe, Wilhem Weimar. Top right: Mädchenkopf in Blau (Girl’s head in blue), Christian Theunert.

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In Blue Nights Joan Didion writes, “You notice it first as April ends and May begins, a change in the season, not exactly a warming—in fact not at all a warming—yet suddenly summer seems near, a possibility, even a promise.” I tend to feel