CS Premier: Eric Aldrich

Eric Alrich, the man behind MOCS 1986, is a desert poet of sorts, living in Arizona by way of Massachusetts while working on his dissertation and teaching literature at Arizona State . He asked if Cold Splinters would post a few of his new works in lieu of sending them to various literary magazines, and after a quick read through, it was an easy choice.This is the first two of four, and we couldn't be happier that he wanted "monsoon" and "monsoon #2" to find a home here. The others will be posted in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.Enjoy.

Salt, Bacon, jellybeans etc.

In 1937, Edward Weston was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a first for a photographer. He was given a two thousand dollar stipend and, with his companion Charis Wilson (whom he would later marry), he would photograph the American West from April 1937 to April 1938. Ansel Adams (pictured above) invited the couple to visit Yosemite, where he would take them to the High Sierra, a place that Weston had never visited. Upon arriving in Ansel Adams country, Weston wrote the following:

We speculated on what gastric adventures lay before us. Back at the start of our travels we had written Ansel to ask if he knew where we could get dehydrated vegetables. He had answered no, but anyway they were an insult to the taste buds; years of camping had taught him the needs of the outdoor diet were few and simple: salt, sugar, bacon, flour, jelly beans, and whiskey.*

Salt, sugar, bacon, flour, jelly beans, and whiskey. Well, that is one of the best things I have heard in a long while. And I hate jellybeans. But that list is just wonderful. Love it.