books
-
A Short Story: The day I went for a walk with Montaigne in a French village
It was around two years ago; I am sorry to confess I don’t remember the exact date (sometime in mid-July), when I, along with my mentor Michel de Montaigne, went for a contemplative walk in a small village some ten kilometres outside Bergerac. The village, which could be said to be more of a hamlet… Continue reading
-
In Appreciation of Wallace Stevens’s Poetry
This summer I have spent in a rather mixed topography, from the picturesque, desolate, sunlit, arid deserts to the watery, mountainous, wooded landscape; from Texas to Copenhagen, from Vienna to Sweden — from Austin’s sprawling music scene to Enchanted Rock’s stone-spotted hills; to a red-coloured, two-storey cabin in the midst of the quiet, Swedish woods;… Continue reading
-
Read Thoreau’s Walden before it is too late
While the title of this essay may come across as rather dystopic, I feel I can express it with no less urgency nor importance than now, as we are heading into the second quarter of the 21st century: Thoreau’s Walden seems more important than ever. If you are yet to read Walden; this fantastic, beautiful,… Continue reading
-
Shakespeare’s King Lear, scene 1.1: Full commentary
The Tragedy of King Lear may very well be Shakespeare’s crowning achievement, and possibly the best play written in literary history. Personally, I am divided between King Lear and Hamlet, though in periods Othello and Macbeth will make their appearance, in periods Antony and Cleopatra or Measure for Measure. Even The Tempest, Twelfth Night or… Continue reading
-
Defending The Western Canon, vol. I (Where we are headed)
It is a tragic realisation that most colleges and universities in the West have moved away from studying, inquiring into, and appreciating the importance and stunning beauty of the Western canon, which, after all, is the backbone of our society — our birth certificate, if you will. Instead, the oppression of our most significant authors… Continue reading
The Western Canon 