“A comic writer should of all others be the least excused for deviating from nature, since it may not be always so easy for a serious poet to meet with the great and the admirable. But life everywhere furnishes an accurate observer with the ridiculous.“ (Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews) Above: English writer Henry Fielding Eskişehir, Türkiye Monday 21 April 2024 Henry Fielding is one of… Continue reading Dreams of Fielding
Category: Writing
The house of the rising sun
Eskişehir, Türkiye Sunday 21 April 2024 “The brevity of life, the failing of the senses, the numbness of indifference and unprofitable occupations allow us to know very little. And again and again swift oblivion, the thief of knowledge and the enemy of memory, makes a void of the mind, in the course of time, even… Continue reading The house of the rising sun
The moon is dark
Eskişehir, Türkiye Sunday 21 April 2024 Your love did not leave me. I was hungry. I was thirsty. Oh, the night was dark. My soul is strange. My soul is silent. My soul is shattered. And my hands are in handcuffs. I am left without tobacco. Sleepless. Your love has not abandoned me. (“Love Me“,… Continue reading The moon is dark
The barrister’s books
Eskişehir, Türkiye Sunday 21 April 2024 Above: Caricature of Leo McKern (1920 – 2002) as Horace Rumpole from the episode “Rumpole and the Younger Generation“ “Inspiration is something one possesses by the hard and bitter labour of every day.“ Salvador Dali Above: Spanish artist Salvador Dali (1904 – 1989) All writers need inspiration. Ideas have to come… Continue reading The barrister’s books
Where all thinking stops
Eskişehir, Türkiye Sunday 21 April 2024 “Greece and the islands of the Aegean Sea have given birth to many myths and legends of war and adventure. And these once-proud stones, these ruined and shattered temples bear witness to the civilization that flourished and then died here and to the demigods and heroes who inspired those… Continue reading Where all thinking stops
Just a little Muir
Eskişehir, Türkiye Sunday 21 April 2024 “In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” (John Muir) Above: John Muir John Muir (21 April 1838 – 1914), also known as “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks“, was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. His… Continue reading Just a little Muir
An unknown country
Eskişehir, Türkiye 20 April 2024 “What sort of diary should I like mine to be? Something loose knot and yet not slovenly, so elastic that it will embrace anything, solemn, slight or beautiful that comes into my mind. I should like it to resemble some deep old desk or capacious hold-all, in which one flings… Continue reading An unknown country
Voices carry
Eskişehir, Türkiye Tuesday 16 April 2024 Above: A spectrogram (0-5000 Hz) of the sentence “It’s all Greek to me.” spoken by a female voice World Voice Day (WVD) is a worldwide annual event that takes place on 16 April devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice. The aim is to demonstrate the enormous importance of… Continue reading Voices carry
Rites of passage
Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday 4 April 2024 “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. From the table drawer he took out a penholder, a bottle of ink, and a thick, quarto-sized blank book with a red back and a marbled cover. It was a peculiarly beautiful book. Its smooth… Continue reading Rites of passage
Canada Slim and the Last Battle
Eskisehir, Switzerland, Sunday 19 September 2021 As the dates below will show, this blog (The Chronicles of Canada Slim) (one of two) has suffered from neglect. I offer only one explanation: I have been….distracted. The purpose of The Chronicles of Canada Slim is to capture in writing my adventures prior to the calendar year. Generally,… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Last Battle