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
A man of letters
Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday 3 April 2024 “What some people find in religion a writer may find in his craft, a kind of breaking through to glory.“ (John Steinbeck) Above: American writer John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968) “How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past?“ (John Steinbeck, The… Continue reading A man of letters
Across the purple hill
Eskişehir, Türkiye Tuesday 2 April 2024 “A life is full of isolated events, but these events, if they are to form a coherent narrative, require odd pieces of language to link them together, little chips of grammar (mostly adverbs or prepositions) that are hard to define words like ‘therefore’, ‘else’, ‘other’ ‘also’, ‘thereof’, ‘therefore’, ‘instead’,… Continue reading Across the purple hill
Revolving doors
Eskişehir, Türkiye Monday 1 April 2024 Local elections in Türkiye took place on 31 March 2024 throughout the country’s 81 provinces. A total of 30 metropolitan and 1,363 district municipal mayors, alongside 1,282 provincial and 21,001 municipal councillors were elected, in addition to numerous local non-partisan positions such as neighbourhood wardens (muhtars) and elderly people’s councils. The… Continue reading Revolving doors
To move ahead, back up
“I solemnly vow to make a backup of my important documents and precious memories on March 31st. I will also let my friends and family know about World Backup Day. Friends don’t leave friends without a backup .” Data loss is every tech enthusiast’s worst nightmare. Computer hardware is fallible. You never know when your ten-year-old… Continue reading To move ahead, back up
Land Day
Eskişehir, Turkey Saturday 30 March 2024 “Started reading Goebbels’ diary. Interested to note that he, too, was a writer manqué who had begun by producing a bad novel and a play which no theatre would put on. Above: German Chancellor Joseph Goebbels (1897 – 1945) Most men of action seem to be writers manqué, and… Continue reading Land Day
A black day
Eskişehir, Türkiye Friday 28 March 2024 Above: Crucifixion of rebel leaders by the Carthaginians in 238 BC, Victor-Armand Poirson, 1890 Standing in the dock at SouthamptonTrying to get to Holland or FranceThe man in the Mac said, “You’ve got to go back“You know, they didn’t even give us a chance Above: Southampton Docks, England (CHORUS) Christ,… Continue reading A black day
Legacy
Eskişehir, Türkiye Thursday 28 March 2024 “Arnold Bennett died last night, which leaves me sadder than I should have supposed. A loveable genuine man, somehow a little awkward in life, well meaning, ponderous, kindly, coarse, knowing he was coarse, dimly floundering and feeling for something else, glutted with success, wounded in his feelings and thick-lipped,… Continue reading Legacy
Addressed to (k)no(w) one
Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday 27 March 2024 ADDRESSED TO A CERTAIN NOBODY Poland Street, London, 27 March 1768 To have some account of my thoughts, manners, acquaintances and actions, when the hour arrives in which time is more nimble than memory, is the reason which induces me to keep a Journal. A Journal in which I… Continue reading Addressed to (k)no(w) one
Purple reign
Eskişehir, Türkiye Tuesday 26 March 2024 “On to “the Daily Express” office about books. I see an intolerable man who treats me and literature as if they were dirt. I am so depressed by the squalor of this interview that I return home in a nerve storm. To make it worse, I am sent out… Continue reading Purple reign