Paul Sérusier Landscape at Pont Aven 1890 oil on canvas National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |
Paul Sérusier Seaweed Gatherer ca. 1890 oil on canvas Indianapolis Museum of Art |
Paul Sérusier Still Life with Apples and Violets ca. 1890-91 oil on canvas Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California |
Paul Sérusier La Marchande Ambulante 1895 lithograph National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Richard Hamilton Interior with Monochromes 1979 screenprint and collotype National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Richard Hamilton Patricia Knight 1982 etching and aquatint National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Richard Hamilton The Citizen 1985 dye transfer print National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Richard Hamilton The State 1994 dye transfer print National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Albert Renger-Patzsch Zwinger, Dresden ca. 1927 gelatin silver print National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Albert Renger-Patzsch Willow Tree in Winter ca. 1925 gelatin silver print National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Albert Renger-Patzsch Sunflower ca. 1925 gelatin silver print National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Albert Renger-Patzsch Digitalis purpurea ca. 1922-23 gelatin silver print National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Kenneth Rowell Costume Designs for Daisy and Rose in Alice in Wonderland 1953 watercolor and collage on paper National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Kenneth Rowell Costume Designs for Waltzing Soldiers in Carte Blanche 1953 gouache and collage on paper National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Kenneth Rowell Preliminary Design for ballet The Planets ca. 1975 acrylic, gouache and collage on paper National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Kenneth Rowell Scrim Design for Alice in Wonderland 1953 watercolor and ink on paper National Gallery of Australia, Canberra |
Spelling Problem
A woman from Barnard College calls me and in the course of our phone conversation she asks me if I would please spell hemorrhaging for her. I spell it, but wrong – maybe "hemmhoraging."
I don't like not knowing how to spell a word, since I am interested in how words are spelled.
So then I become curious and begin asking friends and others to spell that word – whenever I am talking to someone on the phone.
R. spells it "hemmorhaging."
E. spells it "hemmoraging" and then hastily changes it to "hemorhaging."
Mother spells it "hemorhaging."
Mother, before spelling it, mentions the "hae-" and "he-" choice, which E. also mentioned.
At first I think the "ae-" is a "red herring," as I say to E. (Or a "raed haerring.") But when I try writing the word using the "ae-" form, I think maybe it isn't irrelevant after all. Maybe using the "ae-" form would make it easier to spell the rest of the word correctly.
D. spells it "hemmoraging."
S. spells it "hemhorraging."
Ann L. spells it "hemhoraging."
But all this happened fifteen years ago. And although I keep thinking back and trying to remember, I just can't remember why a woman telephoning me from Barnard College would ask me to spell the word hemorrhaging.
– Lydia Davis, from Our Strangers (2023)