From Sir Thomas Browne to Seamus Heaney, the quincunx has been both a device and a structure in the English literary tradition. More than this, it has mathematical, agricultural, and mystical meanings from which, I believe, the literary use sprang.

Andre Alexis' use of the quincunx in his series of the same name seems to encompass all this in a challenging non-trivial way. Having read only the first and second books, Pastorale and Fifteen Dogs, I'm intrigued to explore further into the depth of the series.

If only the Ottawa Public Library offered digital copies, I'd be doing that now.

#andrealexis #quincunx #canadianbooks #canadianauthors

I've been cleaning some donated Lego (which includes a fair amount of non-Lego and some Lego-oid competitors). Naturally there are lots of colours and shapes that are far beyond the comprehension of the Lego-brain of my childhood (my Lego was Black, Blue, White, Red, Yellow, Grey).

Some of the pieces have been quite upsetting, but i think this Lavender Quincunx upsets me the most.
#Lego #Quincunx