Wallace Stevens. I find myself coming back to his poetry again and again, like a puzzle that refuses to be fully solved. It’s as if each time I think I’ve grasped one of his poems, it slips through my fingers,…
I first stumbled upon Svetlana Alexievich’s work while browsing through a used bookstore during my junior year of college. I was immediately drawn to the cover of “Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War,” her stark, black-and-white photograph of…
I’ve been reading Erich Auerbach’s work for a few weeks now, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around his ideas about literature and history. What keeps drawing me back is the way he talks about how texts can…
Nancy Cunard’s name has been lingering in my thoughts for a while now, ever since I stumbled upon her name in a book on the Lost Generation. Something about her story resonated with me – maybe it was the way…
I’ve been thinking a lot about Osip Mandelstam lately, and I’m not entirely sure why he’s stuck with me like this. Maybe it’s because his poetry is like nothing I’ve ever read before – raw, unflinching, and somehow still beautiful…
Emmy Noether’s name keeps popping up in my math textbooks, but she was more than just a formula or a theorem to me – at least, not until I started digging into her life. There’s something about the way she…
Jean Cocteau’s face haunts me, a mix of elegance and disquiet. I’ve been drawn to him for months now, but the more I learn about his life, the more complicated my fascination becomes. I think part of it is his…
Susan Glaspell’s name keeps popping up in my writing classes, and at first, I couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed. Another dead white woman writer who’s only notable for being married to someone famous – in this case, George…
I’ve been thinking a lot about Zbigniew Herbert lately, and I’m not entirely sure why he’s stuck with me like this. Maybe it’s because his poetry has a way of crawling under my skin and refusing to let go –…
Aby Warburg’s face haunts me, a mixture of intensity and vulnerability that I’ve seen reflected in mirrors and photos. His eyes seem to hold a secret, one that I’m desperate to unravel. As I delve into his life and work,…
I’ve been thinking about Edith Sitwell a lot lately, ever since I stumbled upon her poetry collection “Façade” in a used bookstore. There was something about the way she wrote about the English countryside that resonated with me – not…
I’ve always been fascinated by Paul Dirac’s equation, not just because it revolutionized our understanding of quantum mechanics, but also because of the man himself. The more I learn about him, the more I find myself stuck on his contradictions…
Walter Pater’s name has been etched in my mind for a while now, long after I finished reading his works and lectures in college. What draws me to him is the sense of contradictions that surrounds him – the tension…
Eileen Chang. I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately, probably because I’m trying to make sense of my own writing and where it fits into the world. Chang’s work has always fascinated me – not just because of its…
I’ve always been fascinated by Nikolaus Copernicus, but not for the reasons you might think. It’s not his groundbreaking heliocentric model that sparks my interest – although I do appreciate how it challenged the conventional thinking of his time. No,…
Dorothy Richardson has been a constant companion of mine for what feels like an eternity, yet I’m still not entirely sure why she fascinates me so deeply. Maybe it’s the way her words dance across the page, weaving intricate narratives…
I’ve always been drawn to the enigmatic figure of Stéphane Mallarmé, a poet who defies easy comprehension. His writing is like a maze I find myself getting lost in, yet somehow it’s exactly where I want to be. As I…
I’ve been reading about Ernst Junger for weeks now, and I’m still not sure what to make of him. At first, it was the words that caught my attention – his writing is like a puzzle I want to solve.…
I have always admired Jane Addams, but not because she fits neatly into the familiar image of a historical hero. What draws me to her is something quieter and, perhaps, more difficult to explain. She possessed an uncommon willingness to…
I remember stumbling upon his book “The Divine Milieu” in a used bookstore during my junior year of college. The title itself was what caught my eye – it sounded both obscure and familiar at the same time. As I…
