I would like to talk here about the manner in which we fear the proliferation of meaning. Before I proceed, a short explanation is due. The phrase ‘[…] the manner in which we fear the proliferation of meaning’ is not of my own coinage. It is a formulation I take from a 1969 essay by… Keep Reading
Not that long ago Emilie presented her impossible pile of books to read in 2017. Here comes another selection consisting of books hopefully to be read this same coming year, compiled by someone who, while clearly not Emile, resembles her in the respect that he too is familiar with those piles one wishes to find the time… Keep Reading
Pornografia is the story of a manic obsession that overtakes the protagonists, Mr Witold and Mr Fryderyk, upon their encounter with a young couple, Henia and Karol. It takes place in occupied Poland, in 1943, but the grave setting and circumstances are of relatively little importance for the story itself: the true drama, the substance of the book,… Keep Reading
The prose of the poets is what permits those who fail to read poems to nevertheless hear a poet’s voice. This one certainty arrives in the midst of many possibilities: it can be a sacrifice, a paradox and a stratagem. Above all, however, it can be a delight. The prose of the poets can be… Keep Reading
The main library of the University of Birmingham is a place where you can still get lost among the shelves of books. You can take a silent walk among them and hear nothing but this slight, distinct buzz of halogen lamps. Lamps that produce only a dim light if you pull a string attached. Or… Keep Reading
This piece is dedicated to the task of illustrating what Angst is. It will conclude with one of the most concise, direct and telling accounts of the mood I know of: the one from Heidegger’s What is Metaphysics?. But before it gets there, I would like to make some prior remarks, point to some other sources, quote from others… Keep Reading
I am taking a look at a photograph of her, taken presumably in her fifties or sixties. The first thing I see is her hand holding a cigarette. It is only after a while that I actually see her, but my sight rests neither on her face nor on her eyes nor on the necklace.… Keep Reading
How much can be said about what cannot be explained? Resonance: Something in a book corresponds with something in me, and vice versa. Though I immediately know what I mean, this insight crumbles as I try to communicate it. One way to explain resonance would be to try to identify the aspects of the book that I resonated with, e.g. language, composition,… Keep Reading