THE WALRUS SAID . . . . . . . . . being a bookish blog

Sunday, October 18, 2026

The Biblio File: images of bookplates, for bibliophiles


David Levine on writers: Oliver Sacks

David Levine (1926-2009) was one of America’s most prominent illustrators during a career that spanned decades. No less an authority than Jules Feiffer described him as "the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th century,” although Levine continued to work in the early years of this century as well. Levine’s subjects included himself (above) and people from many walks of life. Authors, scribes and scribblers were a big part of the mix, as these caricatures make clear. 

Lit Toons: Cartoons with a bookish bent

First Lines: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis


For some time I debated over whether I should start these memoirs at the beginning or at the end, that is, whether I should put my birth or my death in the first place.

The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

"They say it's your birthday" - writers born on October 18



Henri Bergson  (1859)
A. J. Liebling  (1904)
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos  (1741) 
Terry McMillan  (1951)
Rick Moody  (1961) 
Thomas Love Peacock  (1785) 
 Ntozake Shange  (1948)
Wendy Wasserstein  (1950)
  

Saturday, October 17, 2026

The Biblio File: images of bookmarks, for bibliophiles

And you read your Emily Dickinson
And I my Robert Frost
And we note our place with book markers
That measure what we've lost

David Levine on writers: Anton Chekhov

David Levine (1926-2009) was one of America’s most prominent illustrators during a career that spanned decades. No less an authority than Jules Feiffer described him as "the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th century,” although Levine continued to work in the early years of this century as well. Levine’s subjects included himself (above) and people from many walks of life. Authors, scribes and scribblers were a big part of the mix, as these caricatures make clear.