The Great Stone Face

One afternoon, when the sun was going down, a mother and her little boy sat at the door of their cottage, talking about the Great Stone Face. They had but to lift their eyes, and there it was plainly to be seen, though miles away, with the sunshine brightening all its features.

And what was the Great Stone Face?

So begins Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic short story "The Great Stone Face." To read the answer to the question above and to read the story in its entirety, click here.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

(Photo by Mathew Brady)

My Endorsement of Two Writers' Ideas on Writing

"The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one's family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash." So wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864). And not necessarily in that order. Here is a found poem of mine in which I endorse two ideas of writers Brendan Francis and Dorothy Parker on writing.

What an author likes

to write most

is his signature

on the back

of a check.

To him, the two most

beautiful

words in the English

language are:

"Check enclosed."