from A Tale for the Time Being
“For the time being
Words scatter
Are they fallen leaves?”
From "A Tale for the Time Being" by Ruth Ozeki
I'm still a little heartbroken that they didn't go for the first cover that designer Jim Tierney came up with. Red, clothbound, startling:
Read more about his design process here.
[Link via Ioanna Mavrou of travelsanddaysdreams.com]
from The Goldfinch
“— if a painting really works down in your heart and changes the way you see, and think, and feel, you don’t think, ‘oh, I love this picture because it’s universal.’ ‘I love this painting because it speaks to all mankind.’ That’s not the reason anyone loves a piece of art. It’s a secret whisper from an alleyway. Psst, you. Hey kid. Yes you.” Fingertip gliding over the faded-out photo – the conservator’s touch, a touch-without-touching, a communion wafer’s space between the surface and his forefinger. “An individual heart-shock.”
-From "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tart
"A secret whisper from an alleyway." "Heart-shock" Applies to reading a really good book as well, no?
And Other Rivers
And Other Rivers, Flight, cover
A taste...
Flight
There are many ways to tame a bird
without first killing it.
Wing clipping, an old favourite. Leather ropes, coiled
around the reptilian ankle. Then there are leg-irons
the size of women’s rings Or, to go back to basics, twine.
The type they take birds to market with at the back of a scooter.
Strung feet up, eyes wide, wing bones sinking to the earth.
And from elsewhere, Samsui and After Word.
This is happening
On June 7, I'll be reading at VERSO's final event of the season with the beautiful folks from Versal. Details here!
Coming and Going
I started to miss Singapore even while I was there. I know I should live more in the present but I missed the trees, the various bird calls (the rambunctious sparrows, the mynahs, the odd rooster in a neighbour's backyard), the heat, the food.
It must be the time away. Being away for seven years brings everything into focus. Thorn-sharp.
The bad (crowds, the afternoon heat, the crowds) becomes unbearable.
The good (hawker food, Malay makciks, Tiong Bahru) sublime.