THE SIGNAL from David Katznelson

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."-Robert Louis Stevenson

Today is Robert Louis Stevenson day, celebrating the 170th birthday of the wooden-toothed writing legend. So may I be the first to wish you a fine RLS day!

There usually is an annual gathering in Edinburgh on this date with events, panel discussions…who knows what other kinds of craziness from enthusiasts of the person who wrote The Strange Case Of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Once again, Covid prevents the town from dressing up like Long John Silvers with a stuffed parrots stapled to shoulders, eye patches….peg legs (if YOU want to dress like that, think about heading over to the Pirate Supply Store at 826 Valencia that my wife helped build). Instead they are throwing an all-day on-line festival with what looks to be an incredible line-up, including a portion where they have people reading parts of his work from around the world and if you are really ready to geek-out, a Edinburgh museum staff walk-through of their favorite RLS-related pieces.

Stevenson has left such a lasting legacy that even now, 170 years after his birth, the worlds he created through his writing are still very much with us, ready for us to adventure in…challenging us to understand the dark complexity of the human psyche.

And carrying on with the festivities:

Treasure island ... the life and last days of Robert Louis Stevenson

This is a great read from the National a few weeks back looking at the last days of Stevenson’s life. It is a well known fact that during this period, RLS spent some time in San Francisco and as a kid I tried to locate all the points of interest. The heart of the search took me and my brother to 608 Bush Street and a beautiful classic San Francisco mansion with a plaque telling of his time spent there. RLS’s website, which is a pretty incredible and deep study of the writer, dedicates a few pages to his West Coast jaunt and can put you on a city tour of all things Robert if you had that kind of inclination.

And even though he REALLY wasn’t in the Bay Are for that long—he was there twice, once in 1879/80 and once in 1888—the city definitely owns that period of his life, erecting a school and a statue in his name. He didn’t even write all that much during that time, but he DID work on a poem, Requiem—a poem that was too soon carved into his tomb stone in Samoa. You can read it at the end of the newsletter and see how much of an upper mood he was really in.

'Lost' letters reveal JM Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson's mutual affection

I never realized that JM Barrie and RLS were dear friends, with Barrie looking up to the elder Stevenson. In fact, there are some letters that are about to be published that tell an even more deep love the two had for each other. My favorite part of this article is realizing that it was 12 years into their friendship that Barrie wrote Peter Pan, an immediate huge hit, which included a pirate with a hooked hand instead of a pegged leg. I had never made the connection between Captain Hook and Long John…but there it is.

Treasure Island: The July 18 1938 Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast

If you are looking for ANOTHER way to celebrate RLS day…and you are like me an Orson Wells fan, you can click above and listen to the fabulous Mercury Theater radio broadcast of the whole story. It rivals the 1950 film (and that is saying something) with Wells and a cast that includes Citizen Kane alums Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, and George Coulouris re-creating the RSL’s magical and seedy world of pirates and treasure hunting. Its going to be a rainy dark cold night here in the Bay Area, and a good time to turn off the lights, light some candles and play this radio play.

So have a happy Robert Louis Stevenson day, and a great weekend

Requiem

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will

This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.