Monday, October 05, 2009

Charles Seliger and Howells

From the Seattle Examiner:

Seliger’s affinity for science and organic forms seems part and parcel with his love of books and learning. A high school dropout, who ended up being more well-read than many college graduates, he spent much of his life reading omnivorously on a broad range of subjects: art, history, science, literature.

“Once, when I was in one of those used bookshops, I found a book by the writer William Dean Howells,” Seliger told me on Wednesday evening. “When I got the book home, I noticed there was an inscription inside. It said, ‘To my dear sister.’ And it was signed by Howells.”

He smiled at the memory, still relishing the thought that he had ended up with the very special, personalized volume .