Paul Stephens

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"It is strange that I look on the skulls which stand beside me (I have always had four in my study) without emotion, but I cannot strip the features of those I have known of their fleshy covering, even in idea, without a hideous sensation"

Lord Byron (letter to R. C. Dallas, 12 Aug. 1811)

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There would, perhaps, be no means so effectual as that (which will never be listened to) of taxing the manufacturers according to the number of hands which they employ on an average, and applying the produce in maintaining the manufacturing poor.

Walter Scott (letter to J. Morritt, 11 Aug. 1817)

Remembering Jerry Garcia today on the 30th anniversary of his passing (August 9, 1995) | Explore the Grateful Dead frontman's musical legacy (including audio & video highlights) here: album.ink/JGarciaRIP

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[T]he fireworks were splendent [...] in trees and all shapes, spreading about like young stars in the making, floundering about in Space (like unbroke horses) till some of Newton’s calculations should fix them, but then they went out.

Charles Lamb (letter to W. Wordsworth, 9 Aug. 1814)

On this day in 1969, The Stooges released their self-titled debut album featuring “I Wanna Be Your Dog” “1969” and “No Fun”

The record is widely considered integral in the development of punk rock.

On this day in 1966, The Beatles released their seventh studio album “Revolver” - one of the greatest and most innovative albums in the history of popular music.

Text source: https://www.lordbyron.org/monograph.php?doc=RoSouth.1849&select=Ch9.4 Image source: https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-glover/ullswater-early-morning-1824

We shall probably agree altogether some day upon Wordsworth’s Lyrical Poems. Does he not associate more feeling with particular phrases, and you also with him, than those phrases can convey to any one else? This I suspect.

Robert Southey (letter to S. T. Coleridge, 4 Aug. 1802)

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Here are the craggy stones beneath my feet,—
Thus much I know that, a poor witless elf,
I tread on them,—that all my eye doth meet
Is mist and crag, not only on this height,
But in the world of thought and mental might!

John Keats (letter to T. Keats, 3 Aug. 1818)

Text source: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37955/37955-h/37955-h.htm Image source: www.wikiart.org Gustave Courbet (c.1873-77), 'Lake Geneve before the Storm'

I go to the town with Shelley, to buy a telescope for his birthday present. In the evening Lord Byron and he go out in the boat, and, after their return, Shelley and Clare go up to Diodati; I do not, for Lord Byron did not seem to wish it.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Journal, 2 Aug. 1816)

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Come what may, I never will flatter the million’s canting in any shape. Circumstances may or may not have placed me at times in a situation to lead the public opinion, but the public opinion never led, nor ever shall lead, me.

Lord Byron (letter to J. Murray, 1 Aug 1819)

Perhaps the best MTV Unplugged album.

Israel’s genocide has thrown Gaza into the final chaotic stages of a full-blown human catastrophe. Today’s IPC warning of an unfolding famine must finally rouse the international community to act with a clarity and resolve that has so far been beyond it.

www.oxfam.org/en/press-rel...

On July 29, 1965, Bob Dylan had a productive day, recording 3 songs:
“It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”, & “Tombstone Blues” for his album “Highway 61 Revisited“ and the single “Positively 4th Street”.
1/2

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I am perplexed what to write, or how to state the object of my writing.

S. T. Coleridge (letter to R. Southey, 29 July 1799)

R.E.M.'s Lifes Rich Pageant turns 39 today. Recorded in Indiana with Don Gehman, it marked a shift to a more direct, hard-edged sound—and set the stage for everything to come. Still rich, still resonant, still ringing true.

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In poetry I have sought to avoid system & mannerism; I wish those who excel me in genius, would pursue the same plan

P. B. Shelley (letter to John Keats, 27 July 1820)

Stevie Nicks released her debut solo album 'Bella Donna' 44 years ago on July 27, 1981 | Listen to the album + revisit our tribute here: album.ink/StevieNicksBD

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I have lately read you Endymion again & ever with a new sense of the treasures of poetry it contains, though treasures poured forth with indistinct profusion. This [...] is the cause of the comparatively few copies which have been sold.

P. B. Shelley (letter to John Keats, 27 July 1820)

A wonderful album. When I was learning the drums I spent hours trying to decipher what Jimmy Chamberlin was doing.

His musicianship and feel on 'Cherub Rock' and 'Quiet' is magnificent, and 'Geek USA' remains a masterclass on how drums can be - with his talent - a lead instrument. Good songs too.

Text source: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35698/35698-h/35698-h.htm#LXIII Image source (detail): https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scottish_painter_-_Scottish_lake_landscape_in_front_of_mountains.jpg

The western coast of Scotland is a most strange place — it is composed of rocks, Mountains, mountainous and rocky Islands intersected by lochs — you can go but a short distance anywhere from salt water in the highlands.

John Keats (letter to 26 July 1818)

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My dear Southey, — I do loathe cities, that’s certain.

S. T. Coleridge (letter to R. Southey, 25 July 1801)

New Publication: ‘Percy Shelley in Context’ — K-SAA New publication alert: "Percy Shelley in Context" edited by Ross Wilson brings together leading scholars to explore the poet's lasting influence from his time to ours. Available through Cambridge Univ...

Published in April, "Percy Shelley in Context" brings together leading scholars to explore the poet's lasting influence from his time to ours. Read about the volume and find interviews with editor Ross Wilson on the #KSAABlog! www.k-saa.org/blog/percy-s...
#PercyShelleyInContext

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John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne

(3 Dec. 1948 – 22 Jul. 2025)

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Yet be his Anchor e’er so fast, room is there for a prayer
That man may never lose his Mind on Mountains black and bare;
That he may stray league after league some Great birthplace to find
And keep his vision clear from speck, his inward sight unblind.

John Keats (letter to B. Bailey, 22 July 1818)

On this day in 1971, Black Sabbath released Master of Reality—the sludge-soaked, riff-heavy masterpiece that basically invented doom metal in under 35 minutes. All hail the masters.

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I have always felt the value of having access to persons of talent and genius to be the best part of a literary man’s prerogative, and you will not wonder, I am sure, that I should be desirous this youngster should have a share of the same benefit

Walter Scott (letter to M. Edgeworth, 21 July 1819)

Released: July 21, 1987
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Album: Appetite for Destruction
Label: Geffen Records

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I would I could write a more cheerful account of my health; all I can say is that I am better than I have been, and that I was very much better before so many circumstances of dejection happened.

S. T. Coleridge (letter to S. Coleridge, 21 July 1805)

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We walked 20 Miles by the side of Loch Awe — every ten steps creating a new and beautiful picture — sometimes through little wood — there are two islands on the Lake each with a beautiful ruin — one of them rich in ivy.

John Keats (letter to T. Keats, 20 July 1818)

On this day in 1980, Joy Division released their second and final studio album "Closer.”