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"...all human beings are narrow, blind, petty, stuck in the present. Our problem is narrowness of vision. The poet is a man whose vision sometimes expands beyond the usual human limit, and is startled by how enormous and beautiful the universe is. It is the one thing that all poets have in common, even the pessimistic ones..."

~ Colin Wilson

Why should we be quiet and meek about this stuff, just because we choose to earn our living by writing? If I’d gone this long without paying a plumber or builder what he was owed I’d be expecting him to turn up on my doorstep at any moment with some heavies and kick the shit out of me.

Today I received a message from the new CEO of my publishers to say that they will not be able to give me a date when they can pay me the money they owe me until after the end of January. That’s when they might be able to give me a date for when I’ll be paid; not when they can finally pay me. This is after months of hollow promises that …

The essence of New Zealand civilization

Cynthia Haven, one of our leading public intellectuals—and author of books on René Girard and Czesław Miłosz—is now on Substack. I encourage you to subscribe.

Stanford’s William Mahrt, the champion of chant, dies at 85

I’m really enjoying finding out what everybody’s plans are for the garden this week - the cold weather means there’s a lot of planning and catalogue reading going on

How to garden in January
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