“Inside every human being, there is a loneliness greater than any storm. Some try to fill it with people, others with dreams. And a few, poor souls, only ever find the silence inside growing louder.” Sabahattin Ali, Kürk Mantolu Madonna (Madonna in a Fur Coat) Above: Turkish writer Sabahattin Ali Spring arrived this week, with… Continue reading The cheese transporter
Category: identity
The Ballad of the Whispering Swamp
Now gather ’round where the fireflies danceAnd the fog drapes low like a bridal trance,Where the trees lean in with a listening grace,And the swamp wears time on its wrinkled face. They say there’s a place by the Dnipro’s bendWhere the world forgets how the war must end—Where frogs sit still like philosopher kings,And counsel… Continue reading The Ballad of the Whispering Swamp
Floréal 1, Year 233
UNIVERSITY LECTURE HALL – DAYGeneva, Switzerland He walked resolutely from his dusty, book-lined office. Faint rays of afternoon sun sliced through motes in the air. PROFESSOR LINTON MARCH stood at the front of the lecture hall, the chalk in his hand a small but heavy weapon. He wrote “FRENCH REVOLUTION” across the blackboard, the squeak… Continue reading Floréal 1, Year 233
The last gentleman
He boarded the train to St. Gallen with the confidence of a man entering a courtroom in which he was both plaintiff and defendant. Under his right arm, glistening in the weak morning sun, dangled the unapologetically plastic limbs of a woman no one dared to name. Her expression was fixed — lips parted, eyes… Continue reading The last gentleman
Candle in the wind
Friday 18 April 2025 (Good Friday) Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland On this day in the predominantly Christian nation of Switzerland there is little that anyone can do today. Above: Flag of Switzerland Shops and businesses and cinemas are all closed to commemorate the execution of Christ by crucifixion on Golgotha (Calvary) outside the walls of… Continue reading Candle in the wind
This mediocre adventure
Journal de Jules Renard February 28, 1895 “I think that if I had to choose a profession all over again, I would not be a writer. I would be a peasant. A peasant doesn’t need to please anyone but the land. The land does not flatter in return. Writers grow hunchbacked over paper, hungrily awaiting… Continue reading This mediocre adventure
Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
Above: The logo of Swiss Federal Railways – the national railway company of Switzerland The train lurches with a sudden screeech, the hum of forward motion swallowed by the high eee of braking and the collective gasp of surprised passengers clutching at poles and seats. The train halts between Egnach and Arbon, a silent pause in motion.… Continue reading Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
The winds of change
(Part 2 of “Peace of Mind” / Part 1 of “The road to Rorschach“) Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Sunday 23 March 2025 We can’t go on any more with this notionJust saving up to buy a ball and chainSeems it’s all arranged.You can’t buy time and you can’t buy emotion What have you and I… Continue reading The winds of change
Shadows on the sea
“O call back yesterday, bid time return.“ William Shakespeare, Richard II Tuesday 11 March 2025 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Schweiz The fog drifts over the Bodensee (Lake Constance) like a whispered secret, delicate as breath on glass. It moves with the hush of something ancient, curling in tendrils over the water’s surface, dissolving as it meets… Continue reading Shadows on the sea
Invention of self
“Life is other than what we write.“ André Breton, Nadja (1928) Friday 7 March 2025 Landschlacht, Schweiz Above: Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Literature is both a mirror and a chisel: One reflecting the world as it is. The other carving out the world as it could be. This blog may not be literature, but the… Continue reading Invention of self