Imagination and the American West
Carys Davies’ debut novel reveals that mythologies often arise from foolish beginnings but that the elevated stories that emerge are no less valuable.
Thomas Jefferson
NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Query XXIII
Though Jefferson says his catalogue is “far from being complete or correct,” this part of Notes presents an impressive compendium of historical, legal, and political language that details the character of the Commonwealth.
Notes on the State of Virginia: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Queries XVII-XVIII
Here’s a confession. When I talk about NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, I sometimes refer to Jefferson’s “queries” as “cantos.” Like a poetic canto, which stands or falls on the music of its syllables, Jefferson’s queries must have enough tensile strength to contain his ideas, and space to expand them.
Notes on the State of Virginia: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Queries XV-XVI
This is the eighth installment of a year-long journey through Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia.
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Query XV: The colleges and public establishments, the roads, buildings, &c.
Query XVI: The measures taken with regard to the estates and possessions of the rebels, commonly called Tories
NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Query XIV
We’ve reached the section of Notes I dread the most. It’s also the query I’ve spent more time contemplating than any other. Here, at the center of the book, he makes his infamous case for slavery in his time.
Notes on the State of Virginia: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Queries X, XI, XII, and XIII
In these queries, Jefferson continues enumerating the features of Virginian civilization: its marine vessels (X), the activities of Native American tribes (XI), the locations of urban centers (XII), and the nature of civic power in the Commonwealth (XIII).
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Notes on the State of Virginia: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Query VI
This is the fourth installment of a year-long journey through Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. You can read previous installments here, here and here. ** Query VI: “Productions mineral, vegetable and animal” A notice of the mines and other subterraneous riches; its trees, plants, fruits, &c. At root, Jefferson’s Notes on the…
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NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Queries II and III
This is the second installment of a year-long journey through Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. Here’s the first installment. ** Query II: A notice of its rivers, rivulets, and how far they are navigable Query III: A notice of the best Seaports of the State, and how big are the vessels they…
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NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA: Journey to the Center of an American Document
This is the start of a monthly journey through Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. I’ve loved this book for many years. It’s scholarly and luminous, unfolding a rich lexicon. Open its pages and whole rivers, chunks of amethyst, living birds, and secret mammoth skeletons tumble forth. This is the realm where Jefferson…