The Times of New York candle has hints of cedar, musk and spice
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| The Times of New York candle |
21.6.11
Newspaper Candle
4.4.11
Getting Married
A brief announcement
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| Samuel Beckett relaxes on the set of Film (1964) |
In the meantime, please feel free to browse the archives!
9.3.11
Verso Book of Dissent: Competition
Answer three questions for the chance to win a free copy
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| The Verso Book of Dissent: From Spartacus to the Shoe-Thrower of Baghdad |
1. What uprising is this entry from 1916 about?
"There was much work to do in getting things right
But the old and the young were all anxious to fight.
Every man worked hard at his own barricade,
And rifles rang out from the Dublin Brigade."
2. According to Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise, what is the true aim of government?
3. In Mahmoud Darwish's poem 'Those Who Pass Between Fleeting Words,' what is the "bleeding homeland of a bleeding people" fit for?
Competition details: Entrants must email their answers to enquiries@verso.co.uk with the address to which the book should be sent. 10 winners will be chosen at random on the competition closing date of March 14 2011.
About the book: To find out more about the new book, visit the Verso website.
18.2.11
Waiting for Godot Video Game
Play an arcade game version of Beckett's absurdist play
Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, re-imagined for a 1980s videogame format.
Download and Play the full game at Vectorbelly.
Also at A Piece of Monologue:
6.1.11
Bookshelf Porn?
A rich online gallery of public and personal interior designs
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| From Bookshelf Porn (Source) |
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| From Bookshelf Porn (Source) |
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| From Bookshelf Porn (Source) |
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| From Bookshelf Porn (Source) |
Website: Bookshelf Porn
Also at A Piece of Monologue
21.12.10
Snowbound
What's to come later this week on A Piece of Monologue
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| Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) |
With any luck, I'll be posting from L.A. before the end of the week. Among the treasures you can expect will be a bumper-edition of Disjecta, and some exciting announcements on recent/forthcoming events and publications. So stay tuned for further updates!
31.8.10
Keep Calm, I'll Go On
Wartime poster adapted for the work of Samuel Beckett
To spur me on in the final week of my MA dissertation, I've made a poster based on the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' design. A mantra to repeat to myself as deadlines loom.
Also at A Piece of Monologue:
12.1.10
William Burroughs' Belongings
Photographic gallery of the American writer's possessions
William Burroughs' shoes.
A collection of William S. Burroughs' personal affects grant a voyeuristic glimpse into the life of one of America's most prominent writers (link via: The Paris Review):
Like estate sales or cat burglary, Peter Ross’s photographs of William Burroughs’s possessions provide a glimpse into the material world of someone we thought we knew. In the interview below, Ross explains how the pictures (see here for the complete collection) explore the myth of the man through a selection of weird, touching, and often unexpected possessions found in Burroughs’s windowless New York City apartment, preserved since his death in 1997.Also on A Piece of Monologue:
17.12.09
One Down, One Up: A Jazz Website
A new website of photographs, clips and quotations
As some readers may already be aware, I've recently launched the new jazz website One Down, One Up. The site is named after one of the John Coltrane live records released under the Impulse! label. Jazz music has always held a particular spell over me, and I hope that in the weeks and months to come the website can develop into a major new outlet.
The wonderful 3:AM Magazine has kindly been in touch regarding the new site, and asked me to contribute my favourite jazz tunes to their Top Five column. You can find my selections by clicking on the link below.
Read More:
31.10.09
Literary Rags: Writer and Philosopher T-Shirts
Bring writers into your wardrobe
Shopping website Literary Rags offers browsers a chance to purchase T-shirts with the faces of renowned writers, poets, dramatists and philosophers emblazoned on the chest. As if that wasn't enough, each shirt comes complete with a distinctive quote from the said writer/thinker positioned on the back.
It's nice to see a wide selection of names represented in the series. And, as you can imagine, I was immediately drawn to the Samuel Beckett T-shirt that's available. Needless to say, it's found a prominent place on my Christmas wishlist.
Links:
23.10.09
Update your bookmarks
A Piece of Monologue has now moved to apieceofmonologue.com
10.10.09
Immanuel Kant's Walking Habits
A reflection on the philosopher's daily routine
In a brief but interesting article, Joachim Koester attempts retrace the footsteps of philosopher Immanuel Kant's daily walks through the European city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad):
"The life story of Immanuel Kant is hard to describe, for he had neither a life nor a story", writes the poet Heinrich Heine. In some respects this observation bears out. Throughout his life Kant stayed in Königsberg, the city where he was born. Never straying more than a few miles from town, he devoted himself to the pursuit of philosophical truths in complex and extensive writings, a task so monumental that he had to organize his days rigorously to secure the necessary time. In contrast, Kant was largely silent about himself. He kept no journal; the details about his life are sparse and must be gleaned from what he accidentally let slip through. Most stories of Kant come only from people who knew him or observed him directly. Of the few daily activities Kant engaged in, his walks have been imbued with the most significance. [Read More]
13.9.09
The Samuel Beckett Leather Portfolio
Replicas for sale
Fascinating, or downright peculiar:
R. Horns in Vienna, who specialize in fine handmade leather goods, have found something of a niche in their market. With an eye on established literary figures, they offer a line of special edition goods that approximate those owned by distinctive European writers. The products aren't the originals, mind you, so buyer beware: each item is in fact a reproduction based on existing photographs.
The first example that caught my eye was the Samuel Beckett leather portfolio. The website describes it as 'modelled after a document case owned by Samuel Beckett in the 1950s'. I wish there was a little more information on this, or at least a more illuminating photograph. For a cool 395 € it can be yours.
Also available in their range of special editions is a Thomas Mann briefcase, and a leather eyeglass case modeled after that of Sigmund Freud.
Links
7.9.09
Popular Ivy League Names
Trends in successful applications
The reigning name choices of Ivy League alums are understated antiques. Henry, Alexander and Theodore are big for boys; Cecilia, Sophie and Eleanor for girls. When modern-styled surnames do pop up they often have a literary-artistic bent, like Beckett and Harper. [Read More.]
Of course, one of the names goes without saying.
2.8.09
August in Los Angeles
Vacation
I am in Los Angeles with Jennifer's family, seeing the sights and ticking items off a colossal to-do list. There's every chance that I'll write something when I can, or when the mood strikes me. But, in the meantime, I'm updating my Twitter feed with all the latest goings-on, and the occasional news item.
Regular posting shall resume in early September.
29.7.09
The Perfect Coffee
Balancing the ingredients
Lokesh Dhakar has combined his enthusiasm for coffee and design to create a swish and straightforward guide to brewing the perfect cup. The Americano, a popular favourite, is included alongside the Cappuccino, Caffé Latte, and a host of majestic lesser-known concoctions. The images offer a beautifully simple and accessible guide that can be consulted at a glance to ensure all the ingredients are in perfect proportion.
My own current favourite is the espresso. It's the first thing I think about in the morning, as my feet stumble out from beneath the sheets. And I've developed an exciting morning ritual around the painstaking preparation of my French Roast coffee beans.
But, looking over Dhakar's diagram, I notice there is a discrepancy between the popular composition of an espresso and my own preference. My formula is a little more like this:
24.7.09
Fyodor Dostoyevsky presents Batman
Tongue-in-cheek graphic novel adaptation
Time for another forgotten classic from the vast Again With the Comics archives. Here we present Dostoyevsky Comics, originally printed in Drawn and Quarterly #3 (2000), and currently out-of-print, as far as I know. Crime and Punishment, originally written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was brilliantly adapted here by R. Sikoryak, as seen through a Dick Sprang Batman filter.
Just came across a wonderfully strange adaptation of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment via Bloomsbury Press, presented by R. Sikoryak as a Batman comic strip. The entire story has been condensed into ten pages of bright, vivid images, and is available to read in high-resolution over at Again with the Comics. It's well worth five minutes of your time.
20.7.09
7.6.09
Reading for Summer 2009
An ambitious plan
One of the major appeals of my job is the free time it affords me. I work at a university library during the academic year, but as term-time staff I'm cut loose for the summer months. This enables me to happily pursue my interests and obsessions at an easy pace, and measure my days by sunshine rather than stopwatch. I have a relatively slim income, but it affords time to sit still and relax for three months of every year.
My summer hiatus begins in one week, and I'm steadily compiling a reading list to see me through the months to follow. I can already see myself wandering free through cafes, parks and pubs with good company and a good book. I can't wait.
Tentative Reading list:
Ambitious, I know. I'm sure I won't get through everything, but I'll take each day as it comes and play it by ear. The list is nowhere near as rigid in my mind as it appears on the page: it's just an enjoyable way to pass the hours. I think it'll be fun to just sit back, flick the pages, and see what I can find.
- Samuel Beckett: The old chestnut. Hope to revisit the shorter fiction, the Letters, and whatever takes my fancy. I might take another look at James Knowlson's excellent biography, Damned to Fame, while I'm at it.
- Thomas Bernhard: Whatever novels I can get my hands on. I was greatly impressed by Old Masters: A Comedy, and am already pushing my way through Correction. Every synopsis of every novel he's written appeals to me for one reason or another. Marvelous stuff.
- Walter Benjamin: To inform myself. For someone with an interest in literary theory and criticism, I don't feel I know enough about Benjamin.
- Simon Critchley: Another look at Very Little... Almost Nothing. It's so rare to see so many of my major interests collected together in one place, let alone one book. Critchley's philosophical reflections on death and literature, including key studies of Blanchot and Beckett, are both fascinating and compelling.
- Arthur Schopenhauer: A philosopher who, while often flawed, is wonderfully entertaining to read.
- Friedrich Nietzsche: A grand and novelistic visionary. Just for fun, this one.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: At last! The only real question is where to start: the poetry, drama, verse, conversation, autobiography. I'm looking forward to finding out what the German wordsmith has to offer - all in English translation, though, alas.
- Dante Alighieri: The Divine Comedy, at least in part for its influence on Beckett.
- Maurice Blanchot: Some of his reviews and criticism.
14.4.09
Samuel Beckett for President
'Samuel Beckett for President: Yes We Can't' by Matthew Guerrieri
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