28 October

Born in 1637— Jean Bérain the Elder, French draftsman and designer.

Above: Chintz wall panel (detail), early 18th c.

Also, born in 1929, American poet and critic John Hollander.

We speak of memorizing as getting something ‘by heart,’ which really means ‘by head.’ But getting a poem or prose passage truly ‘by heart’ implies getting it by mind and memory and understanding and delight.

Previously on October 28, Homer Dodge Martin and Erasmus of Rotterdam.