Birthday sonnet for
Catherine, my daughter
Sullivan told him, “Form follows function.”
He, of course, revised that to suit himself:
“Form and function are one.” No injunction
to stay fenced within European el-
ements. He was an American, free
to pioneer, use God-given talent
and the rest from God: draw naturally
from the site and all needs of the client.
Use native materials. Only stain
wood, never paint. The Prairie Houses proved
his point. Still, his good sense never abstained
from using machines to beautify wood,
but always with simplicity—vision
leading to his legacy: Taliesin.
Roger Armbrust
August 21, 2001
