The Ministry of Story

Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, Scotland 17 April 1976 “I thought of the beautiful cool evening, how I long to be walking in it outside this cell. All of this took place while I sat in the semi-dark reading a book. The thoughts on freedom were only momentary but so powerful that they seem to tear my… Continue reading The Ministry of Story

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

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

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

In the beginning was the Word

Eskişehir, Türkiye Monday 25 August 2024 Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle Earth legendarium, which includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. The concept of Tolkien fandom as a specific type of fan subculture sprang up in the United States in… Continue reading In the beginning was the Word

Dear Diary

Eskişehir, Türkiye Saturday 23 March 2024 “Inspiration does exist, but it has to find you working.“ (Pablo Picasso) Above: Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) “I had a poem in my head last night, flashing as only those unformed midnight poems can. It was all made up of unexpected burning words. I knew even… Continue reading Dear Diary

Complete Works

Eskişehir, Türkiye Friday 22 March 2024 “Advice is like snow. The softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon and the deeper it sinks into the mind.” (“Confessions of an Inquirer“, Samuel Taylor Coleridge) Perhaps Allah is reading my blogposts? I mentioned abandoning my winter coat for sweaters of spring, but this morning has proven… Continue reading Complete Works