“Maybe men like [builder of the Watt Towers Simon] Rodia have to exist in a state of something like sustained desperation, to be devoid of other options, even the most common one of all: the support of a marriage, happy or otherwise. ‘Those with “something to fall back on” invariably fall back on it,’ writes […]
GEOFF DYER
ON RETURNING TO LAX
“In any case, the ‘baggage claim’ scene at airports has an eternal value: after the death which to some small extent a flight always represents, everyone comes to pick up what belonged to them in a previous life. It is like the distribution of what each person will have the right to take with him […]
THE SKY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LANDSCAPE
“From my present point of view, the sky is the most important landscape, the sky reigns over all things, forever changing their aspect and making new spectacles of the most familiar sights.–Auguste Rodin, Cathedrals of France
BUT BEAUTIFUL: A BOOK ABOUT JAZZ
“Autumn in New York, a brown sludge of leaves underfoot, a light rain barely falling. Halos of mist around trees, a clock waiting to strike twelve. Almost your birthday, Monk. The city quiet as a beach, the noise of traffic like a tide. Neon sleeping in puddles. Places shutting and staying open. People saying goodbye […]