A place in the world : finding the meaning of home

Author

Frances Mayes

Call Number

• 921 M4688.1 (CEN, OSH)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York : Crown, [2022]

Physical Description

xxvi, 263 pages ; 22 cm

Summary

"While Frances Mayes is known for her travels, she has always sought a sense of home wherever she goes. In this poetic testament to the power of place in our lives, Mayes reflects on "home," from the earliest imprint of four walls to the startling discoveries of feeling the strange ease of homes abroad, friends' homes, and even momentary homes that spark desires for other lives. Her musings are all the more poignant after so many have spent their long pandemic months at home. From her travels across Italy-Tuscany, of course, but also Venice and Capri-to the American South, France, and Mexico, Mayes examines the connective tissue among them through the homes she's inhabited. A Place in the World explores Mayes's passion and obsessions with houses and the things that inhabit them-old books, rich food, beloved friends, transportive art. The indelible marks each refuge has left on her and how each home influenced the next serve as the foundations of each chapter. Written in Mayes's signature intimate style, A Place in the World captures the adventure of moving on while seeking comfort in the cornerstone closest to all of us--home"--

Contents

• Preface: I could live here
• Introduction: Imprint
• A house down south
• Lighting seven fireplaces
• Who lives here?
• Green world
• Camellia
• Magnolia
• Gardenia
• Sun standing still
• Secret spaces
• My Southern accent
• The ghost who cooks
• Yearning for sun
• Toward the Apennines, toward the lake
• Dinner / Cena
• Time difference
• Risking happiness
• Pure gold clasps
• Cucina povera / The poor kitchen
• Household shrine
• Exile 2020
• Southern exposure
• The house on South Lee Street
• The monumental cakes of Frankye Davis Mayes
• Frankye's cookbooks
• And again to the Golden Isles
• Momentary homes
• Why not stay
• Blue apron
• Fragments
• A place to hide
• Water maze
• Friends at home
• Home thoughts: a litany
• The taste of memory
• Rhymes with home
• Changing the changes
• Memento vivere / Remember to live
• Why stay?
• Annals of stone
• "I left a basket of figs by your gate"
• Envoi: Architect.