Recommendations: Poetry, Bed Linens & Ralph Lauren Christmas

During stressful times, we all seek comfort and control. Times are indeed stressful, and in the past week I’ve had two friends ask for recommendations for new bed linens, and three ask for poetry reading recommendations. Also, Ralph Lauren Christmas is trending and that feels like a surefire way to know we’re all in desperate need of something that feels warm and calm and comfortable, even nostalgic.

So in that spirit, this week I’m sharing a few recommendations for wonderful bed linens and also for some poetry you might like, if you’re just getting into or are rediscovering poetry. And as always, there are lots of fun links at the end.

My only real rule for bed linens is that they must be made from a natural fabric. 100% cotton or linen, please. I guess silk would be fine, too, but I don’t find them that comfy (too slippery)!

For my money the best crisp cotton sheets are 100% organic cotton percale sheets. Percale refers to the type of weave of the cotton fibers, and results in that classic, crisp, cool-feeling sheet. LL Bean does this really well.

Organic cotton percale sheets are wonderful, but they’re not particularly cozy. For that, we need flannel.

Where I come from, flannel sheets are sort of like men’s dress socks: the more fun the better, especially if everything else is refined and tidy. The same 100% cotton rule applies, but patterns can (and should) be a bit quirky. Winter is long and dark and some unserious sheets make it a little bit better.

If you find some more outrageous patterns, please share. I’m always looking to up my fun flannel sheet game.

For those getting into poetry for the first time I always suggest Ada Limón. Her writing is lovely, her imagery is unexpected and the emotion is front and center, which makes for really well done, accessible poetry. Start with Love Poem with Apologies for my Appearance, then read the whole of Bright Dead Things.

Another favorite I alwayes recommend to friends is Kaveh Akbar, who most recently wrote the novel Martyr!, which I loved. But he might be my favorite living poet, with his smart injections of modern life that make his writing feel so familiar and almost funny. At the same time he’s weaving together a big thought with beautiful prose that will stick with you. Start with Despite My Efforts Even My Prayers Have Turned into Threats.

If you’re in the throes of parenting, Maggie Smith’s book Good Bones is a great read. I particularly love First Fall.

Maggie Smith is also the latest host of The Slowdown, a daily poetry podcast that I highly recommend. I listen to it every day before work and it just… starts my brain out right. I promise it will improve your days.

Finally, a quintessential Autumn poem by the one and only Mary Oliver:

And now some fun stuff from around the internet:

I love this photo of Katherine Hepburn at 74 years old in a tree.

I’m obsessed with the YouTube channel of Jon Hutman, the production designer for several Nancy Meyers movies. He talks (at length!) about choices he made in, for example, the house for It’s Complicated. This is one of my favorite houses on film and it’s so interesting to hear him talk about all the little details! His channel goes into depth about so many great movie houses and is a very fun rabbit hole.

And finally, designer Nicole Fisher is breaking the internet with this gorgeous colonial revival she designed in upstate NY and it’s easy to see why. Read the whole article in AD, but also just ogle these bathrooms.

That’s it this week. Thanks for reading!