Chapter and Verse

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Charles Hayford writes, “One of the Beat poets, I think, perhaps Gary Snyder, wrote of walking in the mountains in late winter or early spring. He comes around a corner and spies a brave spot of red budding up through a last snowbank and thinks how strikingly beautiful and hopeful it is. When he gets closer, he sees that it’s actually an empty Coke can and thinks how ugly and dispiriting it is. Then he stops and thinks again: until his conscious mind interfered, he simply enjoyed what he saw. Can anyone tell me who wrote this and where?”

“The distant hills draw night” (March-April). David Croson submitted a possible lead, not from a poem, but from the October 1902 issue of Country Life in America, in which W.B. Thornton, in “A Calendar of October,” mentions (in Part II: “A-Field with Dog and Gun”) that the “distant hills draw on their nightcaps of deep purple.”

“The real questions….” In response to a query about the source of “The real questions are the ones that intrude upon your consciousness whether you like it or not”—attributed to the writer Ingrid Bengis online—the author has identified the statement as the second sentence of her 1973 feminist classic, Combat in the Erogenous Zone: Writings on Love, Hate, and Sex.

Send inquiries and answers to “Chapter and Verse,” Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via e-mail to chapterandverse@harvardmag.com.

You might also like

A New Chapter for Harvard Arts

The Office for the Arts turns 50, and its longtime director steps down.

Education School Announces Interim Dean

Nonie Lesaux will serve as dean during search

Harvard Students form Pro-Palestine Encampment

Protesters set up camp in Harvard Yard

Most popular

Marc Hauser “Engaged in Research Misconduct”

Federal investigative agency reports on former Harvard psychology professor’s work

The Homelessness Public Health Crisis

Homelessness has surged in the United States, with devastating effects on the public health system.

Inside Harvard’s Taylor Swift Class

An English course pairs the music with Willa Cather, William Wordsworth, and Dolly Parton.

More to explore

What is the Best Breakfast and Lunch in Harvard Square?

The cafés and restaurants of Harvard Square sure to impress for breakfast and lunch.

How Homelessness is a Public Health Crisis

Homelessness has surged in the United States, with devastating effects on the public health system.

Portfolio Diet May Reduce Long-Term Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke, Harvard Researchers Find

A little-known diet improves cardiovascular health through several distinct mechanisms.