Have You Seen This Girl?

New Project

Hello D-
I have come to miss our correspondences and conversations. They were often a font of both creative inspiration and intellectual challenge. Though our exchange of letters has become one sided, I feel the compulsion to continue as though you are still listening. Kurt Vonnegut often says that it is much better to write for one person rather than many.  So I am creating a digital Wunderkammer of things I want to share with you. Wunderkammers, sometimes called Curiosity Cabinets, were early forerunners to the museums of today. They contained everything from works of art to medical oddities.

I have little hope that they will find you for a few reasons. Because of the last things that we said to one another. Because you do not want to be found.Because you are bright enough to turn your will into reality.

But maybe one day your face will materialize from the crowd.

Chain Break

for equinox & equinox-ers
-----------------------------------

-goosebumps rolling
expanses of skin not yet swaddled.
for soil and tree; fall is pentecost
tongues of fire turning skull chakras
into open hearths-

-graveyard tunes
shake over calcium-dirt and statue
they'll lend you old virtues
in exchange for a mercury dime
for each eye-

-germination ceases
and this veil thins. world's caul ragged and delicate
from sun. wood-smoke, honor my meditations:
"try to not levitate too far off the ground
before snow"

-for each eye
an iris,
expanding-

The Yes Factory

            Yes is a chance that you take.

           

           Yes is a positive word that lays a cruel path. When we say it we step into the unknown. There are more possibilities with a Yes, and more work.

            When we say Yes we open ourselves to long drives around the lake at midnight with half a tank of gas and bummed cigarettes, to the possibility of heartbreak in public on 14^th street, to getting our noses broken at the dive bar with the sticky floor, to a new life that is never what you expected it to be, for better or for worse.

            The people whose lives have changed mine have always been those marked by the mystical powers of Yes. They live with hope and courage in a world that seeks to rob us of those virtues. The declaration of Yes carries an oath to change our way of being. It promises to alter us with the heat of our own fire.

            The writings on these pages are the work of those who took a chance. I asked people to send me their delicate wild ones. Pieces that refused to ignore pain or darkness, but greeted it like an old friend, and still said Yes in the morning. I hope you enjoy the work that follows.

.yes

Please enjoy the first issue of The Yes Factory. It's free to download or to read digitally.

Live through this

...and you won't look back

Sounds Around: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper-Aubergine

Well I bled blue blood from my back last night
I was alone
Aubergine sheets on my bed now
Oh no
And your blue eyes lie
Just like an atlas
In those sockets
Yeah your blue eyes cry
Mapwater
When your'e sorry
Oh so sorry
Oh no

You with the nape that holds my gaze
You with the tongue that speaks my name
You with the arms that keep me at length
You with the heart that won't show its face

And jesus sucks the mud out of your soul
But the flame in your eye, it is blue and cold
And you risked your wrist to save my life
And I should have kissed you that night
But it ain't right
Oh no
It ain't right

And absence makes my heart grow hollow
Absence makes my heart grow hollow
Make me into an egg without yolk,
Make me into an egg without yolk
Absence makes my heart grow hollow
Absence makes my heart grow hollow
Make me into an egg without yolk
You make me into an egg without yolk

I was unborn when I was younger
I was unborn when I was younger
But I was rebuilt when you spoke
I awoke when you spoke
You said, "there's always a reason for leaving, 
there's always a reason to stay
I know exactly why I'm leaving: I just can't stay."
And I say, "I'll give you my whole summer
when you unfurl your fingers. 
I would be lying if I said you had nothing
to do with me; 
you're to blame for my being this way."

You with the nape that holds my gaze
You with the tongue that speaks my name
You with the arms that keep me at length
You with the heart that won't show its face

Rock & Roll Cookbook- The Doors L.A WOMAN

Notes from the Rock and Roll Cook Book: The Manifesto

It’s time for a revolution. American cooking culture has become stagnant. Two camps like political parties sit out on opposite sides of the fence. On one side we have the foodies, whose knowledge and know-how has descended from passion into snobbery. On the opposite end we have the 30-minute meal camp, where quick and healthful usualy means taking tried and true favorites and trying not to shake things up too much. It’s high time for a revolution.

Cooking and eating a meal should be a joy, one that challenges and excites us, and brings us out on a culinary ledge. But it should also be something that one can do in an evening. that’s not to say there isn’t a place for a lazy Sunday and a complicated, time-consuming dish. I’m just saying it isn’t Wednesday.

So where does this leave a twenty-something Brooklynite? The Rock And Roll cookbook. The idea was simple, born out of a love of rebellious music and a rejection of the two camps of thinking. Take inspiration from the music that I love and apply that free-spirited, but at it’s base, technically simple world and apply it to food and drink. Choose an album and use the inspiration to make a meal. It’s already been shown that listening to music can effect the way your brain processes taste in a recent paper published by the  British Journal of Psychology so why not take that idea one step further. Dust off your vinyl, put on your Doc Martins and follow me. It’s gonna be fun, we’re going to make some mistakes, we’re gonna get messy, and there might just be a sweet jam or two.

Episode One: L.A Woman by The Doors

Inspired by Jim Morrison’s post record release flight to Paris, France, where he ultimately died a few months later, I’ve chosen a Pinot Noir wine and a chevre chicken combo that swirls like an acid trip. It’s a quick and easy dinner to prepare, with a few new “twists” that make it interesting. Though this may seem like a tame meal by Doors standards keep in mind that they had to fire their producer because he called the classic song Riders on the Storm “cocktail music.” Sometimes you have to cool it down to make things hot.

The Food

Tripped Out Chicken

-Thinly sliced chicken breast fillets
-Chopped Scallions
-Chevre or Soft Goat Cheese

Each roll up will consist of one fillet, two table spoons of chevre, and two tablespoons of scallions. You will probably want two roll ups per person.

Lay out a chicken fillet and place 2 tablespoons of chevre in a line down the middle. Then sprinkle the scallions. Starting from the wider end of the chicken, roll the fillet up like a sleeping bag, then place a toothpick to the middle to ensure that it stays closed during the cooking proccess. Spinkle the roll-ups with salt. Grease a frying pan with olive oil and head it on medum. Place your chicken in the pan. Brown each side and then cover the pan and put it on medium-loe allowing it to cook for around ten minutes.

Bay Scented Quinoa

Makes 4 Servings
-1 cup dry quinoa
-1 ½ cup water
-3 Bay Leaves
-1/4  tsp salt

The ancient Greeks believed that chewing Bay could give you prophetic dreams, something Jim Morrison would heartily endorse. The quinoa grain is a staple of the indigenous South American diet, and since Jim thought he was the reincarnated spirit of a Native American shaman, this meshes nicely with our theme.

While your chicken is being prepared boil up 1 ½ cups of water. Add three bay leaves and ¼ tsp salt. When this comes to a boil, and you’ve put your chicken in the pan, add one cup pf quinoa to the boiling water. Boil for 15-20 minutes

Lemony Haricot Verts

-1/2 a pound Haricot Verts
Haricot Verts or French Green Beans are a simple and cheap staple of France and round out our healthy meal with a vitamin dense vegetable.

Clean and snap off the stems.
Boil for 10 minutes or steam for 15 minutes
Squeeze  fresh lemon over the hot green beans
Salt to taste

Wine
Les Volcans
This French wine is not only spicy with high notes at the end of the bouquet but has a full palate with a crisp finish. Though the Pinot Noir is known for it’s gentleness and its susceptibility to bottle shock there is a certain rawness and heat and underlying power that gives lends this red it’s name. Just like a certain lead singer.


----------------------------------------------------
UPDATE 7/10/12
The Lex Wine blog is totally down :(
So I've reposted these articles here.
Thankfully I retained the rights to this project

The Rock & Roll Cookbook: RUSH!

The Lex Wine blog is totally down :(
So I've reposted these articles here.
Thankfully I retained the rights to this project
______


The Rock and Roll Cookbook
Episode 2 - RUSH

THE ALBUM:

There are few bands that divide devoted metalheads in the way that Rush does. Simultaneously self-serious and silly, these gods of the progressive rock camp are known for their technical proficiency as well as their devoted fan base. There’s something inherently nerdy about Rush. The Led Zeppelin obsession, the ringing “astoundingly high” tenor, with sci-fi tinged lyrics, and a set of synthesizers that would make Thomas Dolby blush.

I have to admit that I came to appreciate this band only in the last year. It’s fitting that I was exposed to them in the basement studio of a bass player friend of mine. Sitting around after a long drive back into Brooklyn, the synth player demanded that we listened to Rush. Previously only known to me as “the band with the girl who wails” I found myself actually kind of digging the sound, and deeply amused at the raucous abandonment in which my friends enjoyed the music. Still though, I rolled my eyes. The next day though, when Rush came on the radio, I actually payed attention. A few days later I had bought this album and found myself thoroughly enjoying it. When I caught myself perking up my ears to the opening synth riff of Tom Sawyer and getting into my “ready to rock” stance I knew I was hooked. It’s with that slow realization in mind that I came up with a dinner menu based on their most popular album Moving Pictures.

THE MEAL:

A nod to Rush’s Canadian heritage the protein aspect of this meal is a pan-seared Salmon that juxtaposes sea-salt and honey. It’s named in honor of Geddy Lee’s Order of Canada citation recognizing his humanitarian work.

Favorite Canadian Son Salmon

Needed
-One 6oz Salmon Fillet per person
-2 tbs Olive Oil
-Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste
-1 tbs Clover Honey per fillet

Heat the 2 tbs olive oil in the pan on medium heat for around 2 minutes.
Take your Salmon fillets and sprinkle the sea salt on the fish.
Place in the pan heated oil and cook for around 4 minutes, flip the fish and let it cook for another 3 minutes. Then spoon the honey over the fillet, the heat will help to liquefy the honey.
Try to get an even coat on the salmon and cook for another minute before removing from heat and dusting with black pepper to taste.

The Real Tom Sawyer’s Collard Greens

It’s funny that a Canadian band would write about something as American as Tom Sawyer. Though the lyrics to this song are cryptic, the recipe based on them is straightforward. Taught to my by my High School boyfriend’s southern mother, these collard greens are comfort food to many.
-One bunch fresh Collard Greens
-4 Cloves of garlic
-2 tbs olive oil
-Red Wine Vinegar
-1/2 tbs table salt


Come Around Mashed Turnips

There are few vegetables that are as divisive as the turnip. A “gross food” to many kids, turnips have a rep for being lame when they truly do not deserve it. Slightly tangy and with way more psrsonality than a potato, the turnip needs a second chance later in life to be really appreciated. Does this remind you of anything dear reader? A certain rock band in my life perhaps?

-FUN FACT!-Did you know that before people carved pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns they carved turnips into the crooked smiling lamps for Halloween celebrations?

-ANOTHER FUN FACT!-Turnips were a staple food for the First Peoples of Canada!

-4 fist sized turnips
-2 quarts water
-1 1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon sugar
-2 tablespoons butter
-1/4 cup whole milk
-Salt to taste
-1/2 Tsp ground Celery root

Peel and cube the four turnips, it should produce about 6 cups.
On the stove boil the two quarts of water, add in the salt and sugar.
When the water comes to a boil add the turnips and boil them just a little past soft, about 20 minutes.
Drain the turnips and then either put them back in the pot, the flat bottom of the pot makes them easier to mash. Add in the butter, whole milk, and ground celery root, and mash with a potato mashing tool.
Alternatively you can use a table top mixer to mash the turnips. Or some other method. Everybody mashes things in their own way. Do what you want man. It’s the rock & roll cookbook. Add salt to taste and serve.

Last night I cut open a small rat...

Not the general way I start my posts, or it hasn't been in the past, but it is true. Last night I was lucky enough to take the Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class at the Observatory in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Susan Jeiven, a tattoo artist by trade, was a wonderful and patient teacher. She talked us through the finer points of brain scooping and flesh boraxing.

I can honestly say I loved the class. Below are images of my little "Church Mouse." I'm calling him Padre. The pins will come out when his ears dry.

Brand Yourself

This is my friend Emma's brother's start up. It's a great idea and implemented well. Essentially it will help you monitor your search results on Google.

My Brand Yourself Profile

Good Advice from My Professor

"We are immensely lucky if we find the right person and, usually, I think the rightness of that person is revealed over a considerable time; but it's not really what we thought when we first got into the relationship. It's something that occurs later." -David Huddle


I was very privileged to take the last poetry course that David taught at UVM. At his retirement party he called us "the fiercest group of young poets I've taught." I try to live up to that; to give my whole self, to not lose the fire that I have...even when I get rejected again and again. 


By his quiet example I am also trying, striving, (mostly failing) to cultivate a peacefulness and patience so I can guide that ferocity. Fire with cause, fire with a course.


This is a great interview


Full Interview about his new book Nothing Can Make Me Do This 

Happy Beltane!

Written Barely Before Midnight

(-1?)51/50 

I had a strange dream./

I held a goldfish in my/

Mouth to keep it alive. 

Haiku 50 of 50

If I could escape

the bounds of my form, I'd still

make this place my home

Haiku 49 of 50

In the hopes we will

move forward as a people

I will try harder

Haiku 48 of 50

The toothless woman

offered me a free hair cut

"It will last a year"

Haiku 47 of 50

The day I don't look

up when the train goes over

the bridge...time to go

Haiku 46 of 50

If hauntings are real

why isn't every last inch

covered in spirits

Haiku 45 of 50

Sometimes I feel as

though I too am an iron

building, rising up

Haiku 44 of 50

The architecture

husks rise above the sky line

A city. A reef.

Haiku 43 of 50

Oh son of a bitch!

What happened to my money?

A night at the bar

Haiku 42 of 50

She's got a ticket

for the train and no luggage

no end worth the time

Haiku 41 of 50

I keep a gator

head on my desk to clean my

nails on its sharp teeth

Haiku 40 of 50

I am so sick of

feathered girls in witch jewelry

feigning poverty

Haiku 38 & 39 of 50

38

Rilke was followed by

a mournful blue violin

or so he opined

39

I am followed by

guitar feedback and amp squeals

my veins made static

Haiku 37 of 50

The milk box children

pray for rain tirelessly 

to wash clean the earth

Haiku 36 of 50

One eye is higher

than the other blue glass orb

the skull in a waltz

Haiku 35 of 50

Slow clarinet song
puts in mind a girl I know
watch her disappear

Haiku 34 of 50

Howling Wolf shook me

hard by the shoulders and said

"It's all concentric." 

Haiku 33 of 50

If you say you love

even the mistakes I make

then you're a liar.

Haiku 32 of 50

Let the circle be

unbroken, sure. But forget

the song of my name.

Haiku 31 of 50

The hands I was born

with are not the same as the

ones I leave behind.

Haiku 30 of 50

Aligator man

lives down under the Dreamland

boardwalk. He waits always.

Haiku 29 of 50

What do you do with

an object that's outlived its

function? Repurpose.

Haiku 28 of 50

The island, empty,

the apartment windows lit,

no voices echo.

A non-haiku note of Welcome

If you've found this page via the 7 day Haiku Challenge, were redirected from Facebook, Twitter,  StumbleUpon, or The Yes Factory...Hello! Welcome! Thanks!

Consider following my blog. It'll be fun. I swear.

The RSS feed link is at the bottom of this page.

Haiku 27 of 50

The bones of Dreamland

Coney Island's first theme park

burnt, and then entombed.

Haiku 26 of 50

She'll dance about the

architecture in hopes it

will awake the stones.

Haiku 25 of 50

She imagines the 

pale corset-bound ghosts of the

Ladies Mile freed.

Haiku 24 of 50

It's never quiet

enough to hear her heart beat

while the sun is out.

Haiku 23 of 50

That water, so cold,

hid a giraffe skeleton

deep in the Hudson.

Haiku 22 of 50

She plays the glass bells

of the old armonica.

Tone vibrates the spine.

Haiku 21 of 50

A ghost of a dream

hangs in the air on 5th ave

waiting to come home.

Haiku 20 of 50

Kept the carousel

under glass to trap the dreams

of dizzy children

Haiku 19 of 50

Tag my name over

the bridge pass. Remind me that

I'm still here, hoping.

Haiku 18 of 50

Look in the faces

Of the people of New York

Awake/asleep/now

Haiku 17 of 50

Brooklyn bound subway

Eating beef jerky is great

but only for me.

Haiku 16 of 50

You should feed a cold.

They say to starve a fever.

Drown a hangover. 

Haiku 15 of 50

Are all the tourists 

exploring this city or

the one here before.

Haiku 14 of 50

If the mice unite

and declare war on roaches

I'll root for mammals.

Haiku 13 of 50

Sorry I am late

I was watching art cartoons 

with Ruski mobsters.

Haiku 12 of 50

Your headphones are loud

and your music is so bad.

Dreams of knife, of wire. 

Haiku 11 of 50

My people came to

this port; to this port I will

forever return.

Haiku 10 of 50

Yeah, I know the best

rest room in Union Square Park.

Like hell I'll tell you

Haiku 9 of 50

I give up. I do.

Relinquished my sinful heart  

a poor sacrifice. 

Haiku 8 of 50

A woman smacks her

lips at me, I'm livid but

her friend calls my name.

Haiku 7 of 10

He says he's lonely

not for love, or for sex. Please,

a real companion

Haiku 6 of 50

In the dark subway

I think of my ancestors

digging my commute.

haiku 5 of 50

She paints my nails green

tells me she escaped Tibet

humming as she files.

Haiku 4 of 50

Awake, breaking glass

on the stoop, on the street, on

the windowsill.  Shit.

Haiku 3 of 50

Push the thoughts away
it's not easy to grow peace.
I try on the street.

Haiku 2 of 50

You think it's cold out
there? You can't fathom the blue
chill of your own heart.

Haiku 1 of 50

If you could see all
the past footprints in concrete
you'd still be pathless.

Super 8 Star Trek fan video made by kids in the 1970's

I heard you weren't happy T.T.

with the things that I said.
It's ok to dislike the narrator.
I'm just looking to extinguish
that red coal.
I hope one day you'll take care
of our sunny terrarium
in a blue glass bottle,
but that you'll pour out the end,
the dregs, the lees, the grounds,
the remains,
into the garden.

The Fuller Building

The ancient and looming edifice

under which I stand holds the distinction 

of being one the tallest buildings in the world 

for about thirty seconds 

before another and another 

sprouted up around it like itinerant dandelions. 

Her prow pointed north she has always attempted 

to plow to the very top of the island 

and if I'm not incorrect

she's made a few inches of progress over the years. 

Generally regarded as a menace to design and decency 

my beloved flatiron is a phenomenon of engineering 

and was known for creating a breeze that could 

blow up the hoop skits of ladies at the very end of their walk.

I feel a sort of congress with it's incongruity 

and tendency to be cheeky and overdressed. 

It's big in back and cruel and beautiful as first light. 

I like that. I get it. You're sexy. You know it,

and you'd destroy me for saying so.

She's a little vain it's true with her limestone flounces

the shutters around her clicking all day.

Oh my darling you've developed an ego
and a mean streak a block long.

I imagine if someone were to speak ill of you

in your shadow you would peek the other way

and drop a rosette from your 8th story 

crushing that person to a pulp

and say "Sayonarra" under your breath

while you filed your steel frame into a wicked point.

I think you're the kind that people think needs love

but when confronted with us

you just want our dirty greasy fingers

off of your damn limestone.

You will stand tall and gorgeous and cold

until I too am dead

I love you, I love you, and I'll lay my hard work

at your feet. I will give my sacrifice to gods

of the city, and they will never know my game.

But I know yours. 

I know yours.

One-1-ii

things are changing ---------------------------->

The Rock & Roll Cookbook: Ram by Sir Paul

The Last Rock & Roll Cookbook on the LexWine Blog

The editor for this blog has resigned, and the owners have put the site on hiatus. Though this was written months ago, the final installment of the Rock & Roll Cookbook as a column on the LexWine Blog has just gone up.

I began this project specifically for the LexWine Blog, and I'm not sure how to proceed with it. I think the best step for now is to put it on hiatus until I find a new home for it. I considered putting it here, but I don't think it fits thematically with the rest of this site...



UPDATE 7/10/12
The Lex Wine blog is totally down :(
So I've reposted these articles here.
Thankfully I retained the rights to this project
_______

Hello Lex Wine Lovers and Rock & Rollers,

I hope you had a happy and healthy holiday and New Year. I want to start 2012 out with a feel-good, positive album and where else would I turn but to the “cute Beatle” Sir Paul McCartney and his 1971 release of Ram.

After McCartney’s self-titled first post-Beatles release, which went double platinum but did not have a hit single, he and his wife Linda decided to spend an extended holiday at their farm at Mull of Kintyre in Scotland. It was in this pastoral setting that the two began collaborating on songwriting, with Linda providing concepts and backing vocals. A photographer, Linda was the first female photographer to have her work featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. However during her time with McCartney she learned to play the piano. Though critics claimed that her singing was flat, something she herself agreed with, she went on to become a member of Wings and to prove herself a capable musician.
Though the album was written in Scotland it was eventually recorded in New York City. The session musicians were auditioned under the guise of recording a commercial jingle. The record was pressed in stereo, and mono copies were made for radio stations. Those mono copies remain the most expensive and rare.
Ram contained Sir Paul’s first #1 hit after the break-up of the Beatles with the tune Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, titled after Paul’s uncle and an American war hero. Many were relieved to see that Paul could still write hits without his famous songwriting partner. John Lennon was more than a little suspicious of the project, and not without reason. Lennon felt that there were many thinly veiled insults directed at him and Yoko Ono throughout the album, a fact that Paul himself later confirmed. “[John] had been doing alot of preaching and it got up my nose a bit.” This frustration with Lennon’s public statements led to the writing of the opening track Too Many People which contained lines like “Too many people preaching practices.” and “You took your lucky break and broke it in two.” Lennon fired back with his song How Do You Sleep? on his record Imagine. More on that in the next installment though.
One of the legacies left behind by Linda McCartney is that of adamant vegetarianism and a passion for animal rights, one that her widower carries on to this day. Linda was often quoted as saying “If slaughterhouses had glass walls than the whole world would be vegetarian.” It is with this in mind that I present No Ram Shepherd’s Pie a vegan version of a classic English favorite.

No Ram Shepherd’s Pie

You’ll Need:
1 Large Onion
1 cup sliced Crimini Mushrooms
2 minced Garlic Cloves
4 large Russet Potatoes
½ cup sliced Carrots
½ cup Corn
½ cup Peas
½ cup cooked Spinach
3 tsp Flour
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Soy Creamer
Margarine
Salt
Pepper
Whole Bay Leaves
Chopped Parsley

Optional:
Any other vegetables you like. Really, the more the merrier.
Gimme Lean Soy Based Ground Beef

How to do it:
Peel potatoes and boil water.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
In a large sauce pan put 2 tbs of Olive Oil, saute’ the onions
As the onions have begun to caramelize add in the mushrooms, giving them a little room to brown.
When the mushrooms are browned turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Add in ¼ of a cup of the soy creamer and the bay leaves, and put on a very low flame.
While stirring add in the flour to thicken. This creamy mushroom sauce serves as a base for our Shepherd’s pie.
Take your peeled potatoes and cut them into manageable pieces.
Drop potatoes in the now boiling water.
As the potatoes boil saute the remaining vegetables and garlic in olive oil, salt & pepper. If you’ve decided to add the soy saute’ that in with the vegetables. When the vegetables are ¾ of the way cooked remove them from heat.
By now your potatoes should be done boiling. Strain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Add in ¾ a cup of the Soy Creamer, 3 tablespoons of Margarine or similar vegan butter.
Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil to the mashed potatoes
Mash using a manual masher, tabletop mixer, or hand mixer.
If you prefer creamier mashed potatoes then add more soy creamer.
In a deep baking dish (I use a 10 inch diameter circular ceramic one) layer the sauteed vegetables, then pour on the mushroom sauce.
Finally cover the top of the mixture with the mashed potatoes and smooth flat with a spatula.
Brush the top of the pie with olive oil.
I like to put a little shake up nutritional yeast on top of the mashed potatoes before I put the whole thing in the oven to bake.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the potatoes take on a light gold color.

Wine
In keeping with the theme of animal friendly options and environmental stewardship we suggest a hearty red of the organic variety.

Gentleman Corpse...Gentlecorpse?

The Plague Doctor

Image of a plague doctor by Gerhart Altzenbach 1700's

Historical Information

As may be seen on picture here,

In Rome the doctors do appear,

When to their patients they are called,

In places by the plague appalled,

Their hats and cloaks, of fashion new,

Are made of oilcloth, dark of hue,

Their caps with glasses are designed,

Their bills with antidotes all lined,

That foulsome air may do no harm,

Nor cause the doctor man alarm,

The staff in hand must serve to show

Their noble trade where'er they go.

-Anonymous 17th Century Poem

It's hard to imagine that there was a time where intimidation was considered part of proper bed side manner for a doctor, yet the image of the plague doctor  speaks to this quite clearly. Though the details of the plague doctor's costume were created with the protection of the doctor in mind, they had a second intention, one of the instillation of fear. If you saw this giant raven-like figure entering your neighbors home, you knew no good could follow. The engraving above speaks to this effect as the left side's background shows children fleeing from the plague doctor.

The costume of the plague doctor was not totally based on the instillation of terror however, and each part of the total costume served a purpose, even if the reasoning behind it's use has now been debunked by modern science.

The wide brimmed hat was worn as it was the traditional mark of the doctor. It would have identified a member of the medical profession much like a police hat would in the present. The most striking feature is, of course, the bird-beaked mask. The reasoning behind the aviary visage was two fold. One was that the plague was spread by birds and that by wearing the mask of a bird the doctor could draw the disease from the patient to the garment in an act of sympathetic magic. Additionally the beak was filled with strongly aromatic herbs and spices. This was to overpower the "bad air" which was another suspected cause of the spread of the Black Death. One can also imagine that the gangrene of the many plague patients did not give off a pleasant smell, perhaps this mask diminished those scents. The overcoat of the doctor was waxed or coated by suet and left no skin exposed to the terrible disease. It was also thought that the lipid coating on the overcoat could diminish the chances of the disease getting through the cloth to the doctor. At the very least it reduced the likelihood of bodily fluids clinging to it. Under the oilskin overcoat leather pants that bear a remarkable similarity to fisherman's waders were worn. This was intended to be an additional source of defense against the plague. Oftentimes the first place that the plague would manifest symptoms was in the lymph nodes, located in the armpits, neck, and groin. Therefore special care was taken to doubly protect those areas.

Though in the end the real culprit was fleas, this terrifying costume may offered some modicum of protection to the doctors. However it also may have helped to carry fleas from one place to the next in it's heavy folds. Either way, it's something that I have always found frightening & fascinating.






(SOURCE: Oxford Journals>Humanities & Medicine

• Jnl of the History of Med. and Allied Sci
• Volume XX, Issue 3
• Pp. 276)