The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has scheduled two railroad photography sessions; railroad photographer and author Brian Solomon will lead these sessions

By Steven Brodsky

… The sessions were announced today, April 11, 2025, by the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in this news release:

Strasburg, Lancaster County, PA — Due to the popularity of its first Railroad Photography 101 session in February, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has now scheduled Railroad Photography 101, sessions 2 and 3, led by noted railroad photographer and author Brian Solomon.

Session 2 will be held on Tuesday, May 13 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and will emphasize technique and the approach to indoor light. Brian will use portable stationary lights to illuminate several prominent rolling stock exhibits in order to allow for better photographs. This may include the 1838 Philadelphia & Reading Rocket, and the Reading Company’s shop switcher No. 1251. Session 3 will take place on Tuesday, June 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and will focus on composition and the approach to outdoor light, weather permitting.

Participants may bring their smart phone, digital camera or film camera to take memorable photos of the Museum’s historic railroad equipment. Session sizes are limited to 25 individuals and are designed for beginning photographers ages 18 and over. Registration is available on Eventbrite for both sessions two and three, and the cost is only $25.00 per person per session.

Brian Solomon earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in photographic illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He produces a daily blog about railroad photography and his articles and photography have appeared in many railway magazines including Trains Magazine, Railway Age, Railroad Explorer, Railfan & Railroad, National Railroad Historical Society Bulletin, Germany’s Modelleisenbahner, the Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society and the UK’s Rail Magazine. Brian was presented with the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society’s prestigious Fred A.& Jane R. Stindt Photography Award in 2020 for his lifetime achievements in railroad photography.

Brian is the author of more than 70 books and writes a monthly travel column and feature articles for Firecrown Media’s Trains Magazine. He is the marketing manager for New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic Railroad, and lives with his wife Kris in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Many of his books are available for purchase in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania’s Whistle Stop Shop museum store.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is home to a world-class collection of about 100 historic locomotives and railroad cars, a working restoration shop, an immersive education center, a vast research library and archives, special events and exhibits and a Museum store.

A Smithsonian Affiliate, the Museum is one of 11 historic sites and museums administered by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission as part of the Pennsylvania Trails of History®, with the active support of the nonprofit Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Visit RRMuseumPA.org or call (717) 687-8628.

Posted 4-11-25

Hopefully, a child song character has outgrown/unlearned the damaging lesson that was inflicted upon him by a teacher on his first day of school.

By Steven Brodsky

… He’s in this song:

Perhaps he was the recipient of subsequent (and great) arts education that allows him to now enjoy seeing and representing all of the colors of the rainbow.

I wish Harry Chapin would have done a “Flowers Are Red” sequel!

Speaking of a “rainbow,” here’s a piscine beauty:

A rainbow trout
Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC)

The rainbow trout photo accompanies a post about the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s 2025 adult trout stocking schedule. You’ll find that post at: https://delcoculturevultures.com/2025/02/02/conversations-about-nature/.

Posted 2-2-25

Attention wildlife artists: the barn owl is the featured species of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s 2026 Working Together for Wildlife Art Contest

By Steven Brodsky

… Details about the 2026 Working Together for Wildlife Art Contest are in this news release that was issued by the Pennsylvania Game Commission on January 10, 2025:

BARN OWL FEATURED IN ART CONTEST

It’s time to go back to the drawing board, or painting easel if you prefer.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has announced its 2026 Working Together for Wildlife Art Contest, with entries due by May 2, 2025.

The 2026 featured species is the barn owl. One or more barn owls can be featured in an original horizontal artwork measuring exactly 22 ½ by 15 inches, or a vertical artwork measuring exactly 15 by 22 ½ inches. Each artwork must be surrounded by a 3-inch-wide white border or mat, which is in addition to the listed artwork dimensions.

Artists can use whatever mediums and materials they choose, and artworks must be left unsigned and unframed.

Unlike in previous years when submissions were mailed or hand-delivered to the Game Commission, all submissions for the 2026 contest must be submitted by e-mail to rebawillia@pa.gov by 4 p.m. on May 2. Artists may submit more than one work, but for each submission, there is a nonrefundable $50 entry fee. Artists 18 and younger can enter for free.

Entry fees must be mailed to the Pennsylvania Game Commission ATTN: 2026 WTFW Contest, 2001 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797. Artists should be sure to include their name with payment.

All entries will be reviewed and evaluated by a committee of qualified Game Commission personnel.

The artist whose painting is selected for the 2026 Working Together for Wildlife fine art print series will receive $5,000 plus 50 artist proof prints. The winning artist must pencil sign up to 750 limited edition fine art prints produced from the original painting, with signing conducted at the Harrisburg headquarters, and the artist receiving the cash award after the prints are signed.

In addition, cash awards will be presented to other top-finishing artists. The artist submitting the second-place painting will receive $1,500; third place, $1,000; fourth place, $800; and fifth place, $500. In the event of a tie, the awards for the two places will be combined and split evenly.

Participating artists will have the chance to view entries after final selections are made.

Official rules about the contest are available on the Contests page of the Game Commission’s website. Each artist must be a Pennsylvania resident. For further information, contact the Game Commission 1-833-742-9453 (1-833-PGC-WILD).

Founded in 1980, the Working Together for Wildlife program has raised over $2 million for wildlife management and research across the Commonwealth.

“Revenues received from the sale of signed and numbered prints help finance wildlife research and management programs in Pennsylvania, meaning participating artists not only have a chance to take home winnings, but to help fund wildlife conservation through their work,” said Lauren Ferreri, who leads the Game Commission’s Bureau of Information and Education. “By inspiring artists, engaging the public and allowing both to help benefit wildlife, the Working Together for Wildlife program continues to promote the Game Commission’s role in wildlife conservation and serves as an important reminder that we all can make a difference.”

Posted 1-13-25

A Conversation With Victoria Browning Wyeth

By Steven Brodsky

Victoria  Browning Wyeth is the granddaughter of Andrew Wyeth and the niece of Jamie Wyeth. She is the great-granddaughter of N.C. Wyeth. Victoria is widely known for her dynamic gallery talks and lectures on the life and art of Andrew Wyeth. Victoria is a gifted photographer; her photos have been exhibited at a number of museums.

What are some of your fondest memories of your grandmother?

One of my fondest memories of my grandmother were our nicknames for each other. I always called my grandmother by two names: “Betsy” or “Mamma Sheep Turd.” I realize the second name might raise a few eyebrows so let me explain. I grew up in New York City, but would spend every summer in Cushing Maine with my grandparents. As a young girl, and as a grown woman, I have always detested sand, dirt and bugs. When I was about nine or so, my grandparents purchased Allen Island (near Port Clyde, Maine), and, in addition, a very large flock of sheep to help with the lawn “maintenance.  Along with the sheep came sheep turds…. EVERYWHERE. So, she called me “City Slicker” and I called her “Mamma Sheep Turd.” When I was in college and we wrote each other letters, the post office at my college would giggle when they handed me a letter because of the return address. I always smile when I think of the looks people gave us when we used these names for each other.

My second fondest memory was when she taught me to put on makeup and put my hair in a French twist. I can still feel her hands in my hair helping me pin it up. When it came to applying makeup she would always say, “Vic… less is more.” To this day I am not much of a makeup person.

Finally, my most recent favorite memory involved cooking for my grandmother (and my uncle Jamie) on Sunday nights. Betsy was the chef in the family – her meals were simply out of this world yummy. Mashed potatoes, cookies, creamed eggs, popovers, etc. You name it and she could make it. After my grandfather died she scaled back her cooking quite a bit. Around six or seven years ago I started cooking Sunday dinners for my family. I wasn’t the best chef at first; I burned fish more than I would like to admit. One of the things that still brings a smile to my face was watching her gobble up every last morsel. She would look at Jamie and me and say, “mmmmm this is good.”

Betsy handled much of the business affairs of her husband Andrew. What prepared her for this?

She always had such a powerful business sense. I’m not quite sure where this came from, but she handled Andy’s business affairs with such grace and intelligence. She was quite the inspiration.

Please describe how Betsy furthered the career of Andrew?

My grandmother helped further his career by supporting him in numerous ways. The most important was through her love: she loved him with all of her heart. She would always tell him what she thought of his newest painting – if he needed to simplify something, if the color was too intense, etc. She was also very instrumental in titling many of his paintings.

What was the extent of Betsy’s involvement in titling the paintings of her husband?

She had a huge role in the titles. Take the painting Wind from the Sea. When my grandparents were discussing the piece Betsy said, “It looks like a wind is coming in from the sea.” Andy replied, “That’s it!! Wind from the Sea.” Her vocabulary was most impressive. For example, she would do the New York Times crossword puzzles in ink. This gave her an incredible bank of words to choose from when she helped to title the work.

Her ability to title wasn’t limited to paintings: when I was in graduate school and writing long research papers, I would call her and tell her my paper topic. She would then call me back with a title. For example, I wrote a paper on shell shock in British troops during World War I. She came up with the title “Over the Top.”

Were you able to observe Andrew while he was painting? If you were, did he discuss what he was working on?

Andy HATED having people watch him paint. He felt that having you watch him paint was an invasion. The only times I watched him paint were: (1) outside my window in the summer. He would work on watercolors or drawings outside my parent’s house in Cushing, Maine. He didn’t know I was looking, but I was. I couldn’t help myself. This is when I was a young girl (under 13). (2) When I would accidentally walk into the house when he was working on something. I would apologize and he would smile and say, “Hi darlin’. I’m just finishing up.” (3) When I posed. This was my favorite because we got to discuss everything. I would barrage him with all sorts of questions about his work, his life, his friends, etc. The last time I posed (back in 2005) I was giving lectures at the Brandywine River Museum. It was so cool because I would incorporate what we talked about into my gallery talk that day. 

How sensitive was Andrew to what critics wrote about him?

He couldn’t have cared less what the critics thought.

Which paintings of his do you believe he remained most attached to? 

He was almost always most attached to the painting that he was working on.

To your knowledge, were there times in Andrew’s life when he was without artistic inspiration? If there were, how did he reacquire inspiration?

To the best of my knowledge this never happened. Even when he was in the hospital (for a hip replacement) he drew his hospital room and the view out the window. He was inspired by everything and everyone.

 Of the photos that you took of Andrew Wyeth, is there one that especially evokes cherished memories? Can you share those memories with us?

The one I took of him painting outside my window in Cushing, Maine. He was painting me and we would start working very early in the morning – 6:45 a.m. I overslept one morning and rushed downstairs. As I looked out of the living room window, I found him sitting out there with his watercolor pad on his lap, tissues everywhere (to blot the paper) and his watercolor box by his side. Whenever I get sad and miss him, this is what I think of and it always makes me smile. 

You’ve given many pro bono talks. Which of those talks have been most gratifying to you? Please tell us why.

My favorite talks, pro bono and paid, have been the ones I have done at the state and local prisons. I feel that those who are incarcerated should be exposed to art as much as possible. Since they can’t go to a museum, I bring a museum to them. For example, this past January I lectured on the work of my grandfather to the gentlemen at the Maine State Prison in Maine. I went on January 16th – which is a very special day for me – the anniversary of my grandfather’s death. It was a beautiful snowy day and I packed my car up with a bunch of my uncle’s and grandfather’s watercolors and drawings and headed to the prison. I thought it would be fun to create a pop-up gallery in the prison and even more interesting to bring one of my grandfather’s models with me. It was a very special day for all of us. I will never forget looking at the reactions on the guys faces as they looked at the art.

The Brandywine River Museum of Art is currently closed to the public (as are other museums) because of the COVID-19 crisis. Is there a painting in the Museum’s collection by Andrew Wyeth that, at this moment, you are especially looking forward to seeing when the doors reopen?

I love seeing my grandmother’s portrait – Maga’s Daughter. I’m very excited to go visit her and say hi.

Posted 6-8-20

There will be spring days ‘so perfect’

By Steven Brodsky

… as perfect as the day that’s featured in the poem “Today,” by Billy Collins:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/40824/today-56d21ebdad746

Such days foster expansiveness under a “larger dome of blue and white.”

Photo by Steven Brodsky

Those days will be perfect enough to possibly help to alleviate or eliminate impingements on one’s writing flow that may have set in over the winter.

Posted 3-31-25

Things that bug us

By Steven Brodsky     

Photo by Steven Brodsky

Writers usually find it easier to shoo away or crush flies at spring, summer, and autumn picnics than to decide if they should write about some pesky (and personally troublesome) subjects.

If you’ll be attending picnics, enjoy them!

Nice (and easier) writing can arise from those picnics, whether or not flies and other external pests will be present.

Posted 3-28-24

The road I chose today

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… a road not made of asphalt, enables me to commemorate Robert Frost’s birthday, which arrives in two days, by sharing this link: https://poets.org/robert-frosts-road-not-taken.

Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874.

I’m appreciative that Robert Frost chose a road that facilitated his penning “The Road Not Taken.”

Posted 3-24-25

April is coming, ‘she will’

By Steven Brodsky

… In many of the regions where readers of this column reside, streams will be “ripe and swelled with rain.”

The writers among us can choose to act upon exceedingly rich and abundant writing prompts that the month of April and spring evoke.

Some of the better writing prompts will quickly disappear from consciousness, as if they’ll be carried off by the rushing waters of a “ripe and swelled with rain” April stream.

Such a stream:

Photo by Steven Brodsky

Will you have pen and paper at hand to capture writing prompts and to actualize some of those prompts into first drafts?

Posted 3-14-25

Whether or not you will be welcoming the arrival of March

By Steven Brodsky

… March will be here soon.

It’s never too early or too late a date to enjoy this Emily Dickinson poem: https://poets.org/poem/dear-march-come-1320.

Posted 2-25-25

Disattired

By Steven Brodsky

… is this adaptively “wise” tree:

Photo by Steven Brodsky

It’ll “stand sleeping in the cold” tonight.

Not easy (and unlikely) for most poets: to write with the level of poetic eloquence and concision that William Carlos Williams did in this ten-line poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45504/winter-trees.

While the “wise” trees will do what they will in the remaining nights of this winter, wise and dedicated writers will be striving to improve their writing ability.

Posted 2-23-25

The last vestige of light is present on these woods

By Steven Brodsky

… at the start of this snowy evening.

Photo by Steven Brodsky

Though I would like to linger at these woods, it wouldn’t be expedient: there are “promises to keep” and “miles to go before I sleep.”

The words between quotation marks in the above paragraph are those of the speaker in this poem by Robert Frost: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42891/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening.

I have to move on from these woods and this post.

Thanks for stopping by.

Posted 2-12-25

A biblical admonition for writers and/or bookworms

By Steven Brodsky

Writers and/or bookworms (many writers are bookworms) may find  Ecclesiastes 12:12 to be a catalyst to offset effects of excessive sedentary time with healthful activities.

Ecclesiastes 12:12: “And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”

Be well!

Posted 2-10-25

In the closing hours of 2024, headwinds are in the forecast for January  

By Steven Brodsky

… for some of the writers among us.

You may have experienced first-month-of-the-year headwinds before.

It’s clear that the speaker in William Carlos Williams’ “January” has.

Note the first word of the poem: “Again.”

January by William Carlos Williams – Poems | Academy of American Poets

Good luck to those of you who will be writing through headwinds in January.

Happy New Year.

Posted 12-31-24

Christina Rossetti’s ‘A Christmas Carol’

By Steven Brodsky

…was an outflow of Christina Rossetti’s having given her heart to Jesus (read Rosetti’s “A Christmas Carol,” and take note of the words in the last line of the poem): A Christmas Carol | The Poetry Foundation.

Christina Rossetti | The Poetry Foundation 

The poem was not written by a woman with a stony heart.

What can God do for a person with a stony heart?

Ezekiel 36:26: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”

Posted 12-21-24

Ted Kooser’s ‘Christmas Mail’

By Steven Brodsky

… linked here for our holiday season enjoyment, before the Christmas rush gets fully underway: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55886/christmas-mail.

The Christmas cards that the mail carrier in the poem delivers have transportive power, as does the poem: they take us to a special time and place.

Season’s greetings to all of you.

May writing that you do on pages, screens, and on holiday cards be graced with transportive power.

Ted Kooser served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2004-2006. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2005.

Posted 12-8-24

Serviceably macabre

By Steven Brodsky

… for Halloween enjoyment is Robert W. Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee”: The Cremation of Sam McGee | The Poetry Foundation.

This was recorded by Johnny Cash at Cash’s home:

Did the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and a fourth person in a fiery furnace “walking in the midst of the fire” told in Daniel 3:16-28 help inspire Robert W. Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) to write “The Cremation of Sam McGee”? I’d tell you if I knew.

Posted 10-11-24

O column readers

By Steven Brodsky

…  Walt Whitman was born 185 years ago, on May 31, 1839.

In commemoration of Walt Whitman’s birthday, enjoy:

O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman (read by Tom O’Bedlam) (youtube.com)

Posted 5-31-24

A ‘wordless’ special encounter

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… with a heron or other wild animal can compel a person to write about the experience “over and over again.”

A compelling poem, Hayden Carruth’s “THE HERON”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=39844.

Posted 5-9-24

A winged writing prompt

By Steven Brodsky

… prompted by Emily Dickinson’s “Fame is a bee” (linked below):

Photo by Steven Brodsky

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52139/fame-is-a-bee-1788

No telling when this prompt will take wing and disappear from this page.

Emily Dickinson did not experience the sting of fame; she was not famous during her lifetime.

Posted 5-4-24

Curiosity

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… can prime an artist’s creative pump (yes, the proverbial cat that possessed this trait now comes to mind).

Posted 4-23-24

In commemoration of the birthday of Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)

By Steven Brodsky

… Let’s enjoy Robert Frost’s “Birches”:

“Birches” by Robert Frost (read by Tom O’Bedlam) (youtube.com)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44260/birches

“Birches,” a song by Bill Morrissey, had been referenced in the main section of this column. I believe that Bill Morrissey probably titled the song as a nod to the same-named Robert Frost poem. Bill Morrissey spoke of the impact of Robert Frost’s poetry in an interview: “And then, as I got older, people like Robert Frost really hit me.” Bill Morrissey’s “Birches”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5n5ceAv_Bc&ab_channel=BillMorrissey-Topic. I never had an opportunity to interview Bill Morrissey.

Posted 3-26-24

A recitation of  W.H. Auden’s ‘O What Is That Sound’

By Steven Brodsky

… A great recitation of this unsettling poem:

Tomorrow is the birthday of W.H. Auden (February 21, 1907 – September 29, 1973).

Posted 2-20-24

Tracked and found a lost dog

By Steven Brodsky

… during a recent snowfall.

After finding the dog, turned around and noticed the tracks of the dog and my own in the snow “stretched out upon the world.”

Blizzard by William Carlos Williams | Poetry Foundation

The dog was returned to its owner.

Posted 2-15-24

Longing to be ‘lost’ in a romantic interest

By Steven Brodsky

… the condition of the speaker of “I Am Not Yours,” a poem by Sara Teasdale (1884 – 1933): https://poets.org/poem/i-am-not-yours.

The first-person character of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” does not have that condition:

48 years ago, on February 7, 1976, “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first of three weeks.

The poem and song are referenced here in advance of Valentine’s Day.

Posted 2-7-24

‘The work of a writer, his continuing work, depends for breath of life on a certain privacy of heart.’

By Steven Brodsky

… Yes. For the purpose of maintaining “a certain privacy of heart,” will leave it at that; no flippancy is intended.

The quotation is that of Tennessee Williams. It appears in New Selected Essays: Where I Live.

It’s presented here in commemoration of the birthday of Tennessee Williams this coming Sunday. He was born on March 26, 1911.

Posted 3-24-23

One can only imagine

By Steven Brodsky

… how great Hubert Selby Jr.’s novel Seeds of Pain, Seeds of Love (the working title) would be if the novel had been completed.

Revisiting this reading by Selby of a few pages from the incomplete manuscript of the novel because the pages and the reading are powerful and not everyone here now watched the reading when a link to it was originally posted, and because the writing exemplifies what can be achieved by someone who never completed formal education beyond the eighth grade and who had some huge personal challenges, and because I hope that the reading will inspire writing by some of you, but be aware that the reading contains a depiction of violence upon a juvenile by a parent and adult language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0wAJ8AFRmQ.

An outstanding documentary about Hubert Selby Jr.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvDJNEcUxfs.

This posting is dedicated to the memory of Dan Fante (February 19, 1944 – November 23, 2015).

Dan Fante was encouraged to write by Hubert Selby Jr.

Have you read Dan Fante’s memoir? It’s titled Fante: A Family’s Legacy of Writing, Drinking and Surviving.

Posted 12-5-22

Seamus Heaney’s father and grandfather used a spade. Seamus Heaney, a squat pen.

By Steven Brodsky

… digging tools.

Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney at Villanova University in April 2010 reading “Digging”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNRkPU1LSUg.

The text of “Digging”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47555/digging.

Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland on April 13, 1939. He passed away on August 30, 2013.

Posted 2-2-22

Great color choice for the wheelbarrow in a 16-word poem by William Carlos Williams

By Steven Brodsky

… W.C. Williams chose red—an excitatory and perfect color for the wheelbarrow in the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.”

Had he chosen any other color, the poem’s effectiveness would be greatly diminished.

Read or recite the poem from memory with a different color for the wheelbarrow and check this out for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqIl3oX_44s&ab_channel=awetblackbough

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45502/the-red-wheelbarrow

Posted 8-19-21