I sometimes wonder how many of our modern idols would survive without their filters. Strip away the stage-managed profiles, the publicists, the polished platitudes - and what are we left with? Often, very little. But every now and then, we encounter a figure whose inner world shines even brighter than their public image. Helen Keller … Continue reading Through Darkness, Light: A Reflection on Helen Keller
Category: Literature
Three Alchemists Walk into a Bar: A Philosopher, a Fraudster, and a Gothic Madman
“Alchemy: the science of turning lead into gold. Or more often, the art of talking a lot of nonsense and charging handsomely for it.” — An old undertaker’s proverb (probably) I’ve always had a fascination with alchemists. Maybe it’s the funeral director in me - the sense of cloaks, secrets, crucibles, and the unspoken transformation of … Continue reading Three Alchemists Walk into a Bar: A Philosopher, a Fraudster, and a Gothic Madman
Maugham’s Cakes and Ale: On the Sacred Art of Not Taking Oneself Too Seriously
There are books one reads, and books one is quietly read by. Somerset Maugham’s Cakes and Ale falls into the latter camp - it observes you from over the rim of its brandy glass, raises a bemused eyebrow, and says absolutely nothing. Not because it’s shy, but because it knows better than to interrupt the theatre of … Continue reading Maugham’s Cakes and Ale: On the Sacred Art of Not Taking Oneself Too Seriously
Folie à Deux – On Madness Made Mutual (with Brontëan Echoes)
Preface - On the Madness of Love, and the Love of Madness Few things are more dangerous than a person who agrees with you completely. Especially if you're wrong. And doubly so if they are too. I recently re-read Wuthering Heights - which is, as far as I’m concerned, the great British novel of shared madness. … Continue reading Folie à Deux – On Madness Made Mutual (with Brontëan Echoes)
On the Road – Jack Kerouac and the Cult of Going Absolutely Nowhere Very Fast
I’ve never had the constitution for jazz. It makes me feel like I’m trapped in a lift with a methed-up trumpet and no discernible plot. And yet, somewhere in the post-war fug of America’s caffeine-sweating adolescence, Jack Kerouac managed to convince a generation that the meaning of life could be found in bebop, Benzedrine, and … Continue reading On the Road – Jack Kerouac and the Cult of Going Absolutely Nowhere Very Fast
Wording 