May 5

Someone wore this shade of pink today. According to Wikipedia, Thulian pink refers to the land of Thule. It is categorized under the Wiki page for rose (color) and its first recorded use as a color name in English was in 1912. It also became known as first lady in 1948, under the Plochere Color System. I can’t help but imagine Margaret Thatcher and Dolores Umbridge, though neither are first ladies. There’s something overly prim about pink. But that’s the thing – it sticks, like a burr.

Thule is farthest north location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. In classical and medieval literature, ultima Thule (Latin “farthermost Thule”) acquired a metaphorical meaning of any distant place located beyond the “borders of the known world.” I can’t comprehend this – I imagine it must be the same as floating in the middle of the sea, trying to comprehend the galaxy above. Or perhaps sitting opposite my father, a steaming cup of oolong tea in both our hands.

look: Jen Bervin, Silk Poems
listen: Nico Muhly, Doublespeak
read: Alice Flaherty, The Midnight Disease