Nan’s Notebook
East Coast USA
Use a news reader app?
Get new posts from Nan!
Just copy and paste this address into your reader service:
https://www.4seasonshelf.com/blog?format=rss
Where / What is the Outer Lands Archipelago?
The Outer Lands Archipelago along the American east coast is an inspiration for author and painter N.G. Swett. The islands, which include Long Island, Block Island, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, New York City and many others, share a unique ecology, history and economy. In this blog post you can find a Google map, an excellent book, and examples of creative works by N.G. Swett including a short video of the Outer Lands beach and surf, and the illustrated novel ‘The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission’.
The spirit of these great primordial islands, which so many have felt, also shapes the 4seasonshelf Project
4.75×3” oval sticker
Black & white
Mailed in protective cello wrapper
Original graphic design for the 4seasonshelf Project by N.G. Swett
Authentic - stamped with artist seal
Author and painter N.G. Swett lives in the Outer Lands Archipelago, the string of islands along the American east coast including Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Block Island, Long Island, New York City and many more. The archipelago’s spirit, beauty and challenges sets the scene for Swett’s 4seasonshelf Project.
Many say the special lighting of these islands, its four season climate, beautiful beaches, and the sheer scale and drama of the skies give the archipelago a special potency in the dream realm. More than a backdrop, author N.G. Swett says the islands are alive with the invisible forces of the universe. Have you felt it?
The Natural History of the Outer Lands Archipelago, east coast, USA
”No continent is entire of itself,” begins the preface to The Outer Lands: A Natural History Guide To Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island and Long Island by Dorothy Sterling. “Between the Atlantic Ocean and the rocky rim of New England lies a chain of islands and a peninsula. Long Island points northeast across open stretches of water to Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the flexed arm of Cape Cod. Isolated by the awesome processes of the earth’s evolution, these sandy, windswept outlands are the remnants of an ancient coastline.”
Wonderful book on the subject:
The Outer Lands by Dorothy Sterling and illustrated by Winifred Lubell
This richly illustrated and well written book details the natural history of the Outer Lands Archipelago. It can be found in the collections of most libraries in the Archipelago!
Author Endows Archipelago with Special Powers
To its natural history, author N.G. Swett has added a spiritual dimension to the archipelago, giving it the power to enchant and transform, in her new illustrated novel The Clerk and the Ink Drinker in the Outer Lands Mission.
More About the Outer Lands Archipelago
Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Written and Illustrated by N.G. Swett
Illustrated Paperback
Copyright 2026 by N.G. Swett
292 pages
First Edition
“More Babies!” — video with short rhyming poem, artwork
by New York poet NG Swett
Just a quick video post today, including a couple of extra pieces of material:
notes about the substance of the poem
when and how I wrote it
creating and posting the video
The substance of the poem
The billionaires, plutocrats, oligarchs — some are calling for more babies.
Women should have more babies, some say. Women shouldn’t be able to end a pregnancy under any circumstances, some say. Life is too… precious!
Over a lifetime, families can easily shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars per person for taxes, health care, child care, education, shelter, food, transportation, weddings, and finally assisted living. The willingness to pay is only limited by our means. The value of a statistical life was estimated at $7.5 million in 2020 according to FEMA. Oh how the shareholders must drool at a number like that!
Other happy civilized countries don’t have things set up this way. Every heartstring we have is tapped for all it’s worth. Every fear stoked for our last dime.
There’s pushback on social media to this idea of women as livestock, especially among women. But the good news for the owner class is that they can mute ‘em with algorithms. (Studies show that social media is terrible for women’s mental health, especially secular liberals.)
Scientists proved that the human race is stripping the planet of resources, causing mass extinction, and polluting it to the brink of extinction. So do we really need more people? Or should we get our house in order first?
Writing the poem
So this all tickled my funny bone a little, so I jotted down this little rhyming poem in a big black journal that I’ve been using lately for sketching and writing.
To illustrate the poem, I pulled up a painting I did some time ago of a made-up plutocrat, “One.” It’s from a series of mini acrylic paintings I made as art therapy to get me through writing and editing my first novel — a very, very challenging project! The paintings are all illustrations from scenes of the novel.
In the painting, One lounges god-like across a royal-looking chair in front of a glass window at night. You can see a bridge lit up behind him. The rug under his shiny black boots is a rough map of the Outer Lands Archipelago.
Making the videos
I made a short video in two formats, wide and vertical mobile. I added two audio tracks, one with the sound of a typewriter and another with the sound of an eerie lullaby…
I’m placing the wide format video here on 4seasonshelf.com first.
Then they will go on the billionaires’ platforms…
Download Love Poem: “Thoughts Upside Down” by NY Poet NG Swett
Download love poem about love, loss and grief “Thoughts Upside Down” from poetry book HOLD ME TIGHT by NY poet NG Swett. The short rhyming poem is also shown on short mobile video with comments about how people respond to poetry in these busy and stressful times. Poetry can be a weird thing that isn’t seen or talked about every day, and it can be funny to get your friends and family to read and even help with a few.
People really like this short rhyming poem from Hold Me Tight, my book of love poems
“Thoughts Upside Down” from HOLD ME TIGHT poetry book by New York poet NG Swett. On 4x6 adhesive shipping label printed on a thermal printer.
4YOU! Click image for free DOWNLOAD of png for personal use.
Here is a short video I made of the same poem:
Thermal poetry?
I printed the poem above on a thermal printer and I’ll tell you why.
Printing a poem on an adhesive thermal label is an idea I got by two accidents.
One accident was in the original printing of the paperback poetry book. A poem accidentally sucked. So I made a label with a better poem and covered my shame. (And updated and uploaded my files to Ingram Spark and Draft2Digital for the revised hard cover and ebook editions.)
The other accident was printing out a dozen of the same shipping label for an eBay sale. A waste of precious labels, for sure! But printing a dozen poems on purpose and then sticking them up around town might be fun.
When I’ve got some thermal poems in my bag, I keep my eye open for a good spot. What’s a good spot? Visible, public, out of the elements a bit, smooth surface, and possibly used by other sticker people…
Can you see my thermal poem?
In selling online, I’ve become aware of a huge number of creative, entrepreneurial and community-minded people doing ecommerce, and many of us have thermal printers because of the time, money and paper they save in shipping. The cost of ink these days, am I right?!
Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.
Written and Illustrated by N.G. Swett
Illustrated Paperback
Copyright 2026 by N.G. Swett
292 pages
First Edition