Author Archives: Gavin Stevens

About Gavin Stevens

Humptulips County is the wholly fictional on-line residence of Stephen Ellis, a would-be writer, an avid fan of William Faulkner and his Yoknapatawpha County, and a retired lawyer.

Of Tall Pines and Virginia Creepers

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

It turned away from the blithe country And down the other air and the blue altered sky Streamed again a wonder of summer With apples Pears and red currants And I saw in the turning so clearly a child’s Forgotten … Continue reading →

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Messing Around Unconsionably in a Sordid World

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

Truth shifts and changes like a cataract of diamonds; its aspect is never precisely the same at two successive instants. But error flows down the channel of history like some great stream of lava or infinitely lethargic glacier. It is … Continue reading →

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Vacationing at Home

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

I took this week off for a variety of reasons: the Summer is ending and I wanted to catch what’s left; many of my clients take the month off; and the Humptulips County Fair begins this week. For my wife … Continue reading →

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The Changing of the Light

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

“Daylight… in my mind, the night faded. It was daytime and the neighbourhood was busy. Miss Stephanie Crawford crossed the street to tell the latest to Miss Rachel. Miss Maudie bent over her azaleas. It was summertime, and two children … Continue reading →

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Pray There is Intelligent Life

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

I have come to believe that much of the thinking that humanity considers “intelligent thought” is really nothing more than a convenient rationalization for why we, as a species, compulsively do things we are neurologically hard-wired to do and is, … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Place in the Firmament | 1 Comment

A Treasury of William Faulkner

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

The University of Virginia recently posted a website of recordings of William Faulkner from the period in which he served as Writer-in-Residence in the late 1950′s. I have just discovered and begun to listen to the recordings, but I strongly … Continue reading →

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Of Oxymorons and Moronic Ideas

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

NPR’s Morning Edition broadcast a piece this morning about Standford University’s Engineering Department’s library going book-less. You can find NPR’s piece here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128361395. As much as I can understand a modern university seeking to save expense and space, the concept … Continue reading →

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On Being A Morning Person

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

Those who know me understand that I am a morning person, and that by “morning” I especially mean the pre-dawn hours. In considering my preference, most of my friends focus on the fact that I go to bed earlier than … Continue reading →

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A Birthday Wish for Don

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

Yesterday was my oldest son’s birthday. He turned 40. His accession to this age reminded me of what I was doing 40 years ago, which was graduating from law school and moving back to Humptulips County from the Midwest. In … Continue reading →

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April and Poetry

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Gavin Stevens

April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. T. S. Eliot, The Wasteland April is National Poetry Month. It is a month in which we should … Continue reading →

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