"I Have Seen a Road," from "Chinese Love Poems," Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, 1942. The author is anonymous, and the translation is by Peter Rudolph. #poetry #poetrybooks #chinesepoetry #lovepoems #chineselovepoems #vintagebooks #peterpauperpress #books #booksky

It is not until I am back home that I notice that the pretty young woman who helped me at the store has written her name on the receipt. Her name, in another language, means "Happiness," and she has added a smiley face. This small thing makes me happy. #happiness #kindness #sachi #happy

Elegant photos, eloquent words.

"To combine the rational and the intuitive, the straight line and the curve. The one without the other doesn't balance; it is the juxtaposition of the two that informs the whole." Maya Lin, "Boundaries" #mayalin #design #art #architecture #brilliantwomen #balance

I love Bluesky, but this is frustrating. It's not just happening to me: Other photographers have commented on the same thing. Photos are being inexplicably marked as "explicit sexual images." Did they hire John Ashcroft to review posts? WTF? #bluesky #frustrating #photography #nudity #censorship

"You're in love with my mind. But sometimes, sweetheart, A woman needs a man who loves her ass." Sandra Cisneros, from "Full Moon and You're Not Here," in "Loose Woman" (Vintage Books, 1994) #sandracisneros #poetry #poets #womenpoets #poetrybooks #loosewomen #love

Reading Cupid and Psyches, Black and White. Model: Sol #blackandwhite #monochrome #womenandbooks #womenreading #jeandebosschere #raritypress #chicagophotographer #sol

"Then her soul sat on her lips, and language flowed, from what source I cannot tell." - Charlotte Bronte, from "Jane Eyre" #literature #charlottebronte #janeeyre #bronte #writers #soul #language

Yesterday I received my copy of "Hekate" by @nikitagill.bsky.social. It's drop-dead gorgeous. The design is by Sasha Illingworth, and the jacket art is by @micaelaalcaino.bsky.social. #nikitagill #hekate #booksky #beautifulbooks #design #sashaillingworth #micaelaalcaino #poetry #verse #mythology

Try to be a Rainbow in Someone's cloud. Model: Mia #photography #chicagophotographer #portraits #mia #mayaangelou #rogerspark #rainbow #happy #happiness

For many of us Bluesky is a creative outlet. It's annoying to have to begin each day by determining whether or not the charlatans, hypocrites, and buffoons of the Trump Administration have destroyed anything else during the night. No? The damage was only moderate? OK, might as well post. #fucktrump

A Little More Light. Model: A. H. #photography #blackandwhite #monochrome #portraits #chicagomodel #chicagophotographer #availablelight #a.h. #sansbook

"Printer's ink has been running a race against gunpowder these many, many years. Ink is handicapped, in a way, because you can blow up a man with gunpowder in half a second, while it may take twenty years to blow him up with a book." Christopher Morley, "The Haunted Bookshop" #books #booksky

Surprising statistical fact: the average person has one testicle and half a vagina. #statistics #innumeracy #funny #true #jokes

Wicked in Waiting. Model: 8N8 #womenandbooks #wicked #gregorymaguire #chicagophotographer #chicagomodel

Sandra Cisneros, from "Bay Poem from Berkeley," in "Loose Woman" (Vintage Books, 1995) #poetry #sandracisneros #books #booksky #poets #poems #loosewoman #love #vintagebooks #chicagowriters #lonely #loneliness

O you whom I often and silently come where you are, that I may be with you, As I walk by your side, or sit near, or remain in the same room with you, Little you know the subtle electric fire that for your sake is playing within me. Walt Whitman, "O You Whom I Often and Silently Come" #poetry

Yesterday I spent a lovely afternoon at Printer's Row Lit Fest in downtown Chicago. Meanwhile, the Orange Emperor spent the day creating AI images of his fantasy version of Chicago. #chipocalypse #trump #fucktrump #chicago #truthsocial #departmentofwar #illinois #nationalguard #printersrowlitfest

"The clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society." Mark Twain The book shown here is "Censorship" by Dorothy Iannone (Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Switzerland, 2014) #marktwain #bookmarks #dorothyiannone #censorship #clothes #clothesmaketheman #fashion #artbooks

Join us to celebrate #humansofBlueSky , follow and use our feed to keep track ▶️ bsky.app/profile/did:... Show us #Candid, #portrait, #Street, #Friends, #Family, #Strangers, #Boudoir, interpret as free as you want! Welcome and please #broadcast so more people join us. #EastCoastKin supported

Dear Friends, I have an exhibition of my artwork opening at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery in Chicago this Friday, September 5th from 4:00 - 7:00 pm. It would be lovely to see you, please come!

"That's the funny thing about hope. Nobody else gets to decide if you feel it. That choice belongs to you." from "KPop Demon Hunters," by @maggiekang.bsky.social, Danya Jimenez, Chris Appelhaus, and Hannah McMechan #hope #kpopdemonhunters #maggiekang #danyajimenez #chrisappelhaus #hannahmcmechan

"Many a housewife staring at the back of her husband's newspaper or listening to his breathing in bed is lonelier than any spinster in a rented room." Germaine Greer, from "The Female Eunuch" #germainegreer #feminism #feminists #loneliness #thefemaleeunuch

Illustration by Steele Savage, from "The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio," Blue Ribbon Books, New York, 1931. #steelesavage #boccaccio #decameron #literature #vintagebooks #bookillustrations #booksky #blueribbonbooks

"Nobody loved her and she wouldn't have liked it if they had, for she considered love a serious disability." Toni Morrison, "Beloved" #love #tonimorrison #literature #beloved #booksky

At the Vivian Maier mural, Chicago. Model: @cassandra-fowler.bsky.social Mural: Kobra #vivianmaier #photography #photographers #streetphotography #murals #kobra #art #streetart #brazilianartists #wickerpark #chicagophotographer #chicagomodel #chicago #cassandrafowler #cj

But better a heart a-bloom with sins Than hearts gone yellow and dry! Dorothy Parker, from "The Whistling Girl" #dorothyparker #poetry #sin #desire

"I will always compare love's death to the way a hunted wild thing dies. Alone, betrayed and desperately fighting against all odds to stay alive." @nikitagill.bsky.social, from "When Love Dies," in her book "Wild Embers" (Hatchette Books, 2017) #nikitagill #love #poetry #wildembers #hachettebooks

"Feminists can wear anything they fucking want." - Gloria Steinem, responding to criticism of Emma Watson's 2017 Vanity Fair photos. Link: www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gloria... #feminism #feminists #sexism #emmawatson #gloriasteinem #fashion #clothing

Hiding Each Other. Models: @cassandra-fowler.bsky.social and Anon #photography #originalphotography #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #monochrome #strangeportraits #hiddenwomen #hands #chicagomodels #chicagophotographer #artisticphotography #sometimesiamembarassedtocallmyworkart #ohwell

"... I felt a thrill of artist-delight at the idea of copying from so perfect and radiant a model." Charlotte Bronte, "Jane Eyre" #charlottebronte #literature #janeeyre #beauty #art #artists #muse #model

Poison in Black and White. Model: Annabel Lee Book: "Poison" by @sarahpinborough.bsky.social #womenandbooks #womenreading #goth #blackandwhite #stockings #garters #dangerouswomen #poison #sarahpinborough #annabellee

"It's such a gift to have a mask you can hide behind. A skin you can slip into when your own feels threadbare and abraded." from "A Hundred Thousand Worlds" (Viking, 2016) by @bobproehl.bsky.social #bobproehl #masks #introverts #cosplay #fandom

Quietly Reflecting. Model: K. #womenandbooks #booksky #books #lovebooks #portraits #photography #chicagophotographer #chicagomodel #k

“Always have something beautiful in sight, even if it's just a daisy in a jelly glass.” ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr. #selfportrait 📷©vivibene1 #WorldPhotographyDay

"For her actual beauty, it is said, was not in itself so remarkable that none could be compared with her... but the contact of her presence... the attraction of her person, joining with the charm of her conversation... all she said or did, was something bewitching." Plutarch, describing Cleopatra

"Vivian's lips kissed him on the cheek... It was like kisses before bodies were invented. Bodies are invented about the age of twelve or thirteen... There is a sweet something about such kisses you never find again after someone puts a body under your head." Ray Bradbury, "Driving Blind" #kisses

A Little Like Lady Godiva. Model: Mia #blackandwhite #monochrome #chicagophotographer #womenandbooks #ladygodiva #silly #strangebooks

"It was smart. It was right." "Does anyone know what the hell she's talking about?" "The mythical first woman. From their Bible?" "Don't worry, beautiful. That's just another silly old story... written by a bunch of dudes!" Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn & @cliffchiang.bsky.social @imagecomics.com

"The Droll Stories of Balzac," Blue Ribbon Books, New York, 1932. Illustration by Steele Savage. #books #beautifulbooks #vintagebooks #literature #balzac #booksky #steelesavage

"Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack." Virginia Woolf, "Street Haunting: A London Adventure" #books #booksky #usedbooks #bookstores #virginiawoolf

Summertime, with "And Still I Rise." Model: J. #womenandbooks #womenreading #blackandwhite #mayaangelou #andstillirise #j #booksky

"Desire does not die with the body," said Helen. "Only the ability to satisfy it." Margaret Atwood, "The Penelopiad" #margaretatwood #penelopiad #literature #mythology #penelope #desire #atwood

I've seen some people the last little while announce they aren't going to share their sexy weird art because 'now isn't the time' my friends, my loves, my beautiful creatures. Make art. Make art all the time. Be gross and weird and put it right out there in the world.

One of the Seven. Model: @cassandra-fowler.bsky.social #womenandbooks #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #monochrome #photography #chicagomodel #chicagophotographer #strangeportraits #cj

"The killing witchery that lies In her soft, black, delicious eyes— Her lashes speak a thousand blisses" From the story of Laili and Majnun, by Nizami, in "Persian Myths," edited by Jake Jackson. (Flame Tree Publishing, 2022) #nizami #literature #persia #persianmyths #iranianliterature #beauty