I’ve been thinking about Benedetto Croce a lot lately, ever since I stumbled upon his name in a footnote while reading about Italian philosophy. There’s something about him that fascinates me – or maybe it’s what he represents. As a…
I’ve always been drawn to Rose Macaulay’s writing, but it’s her life that really fascinates me. I think it’s because she was a woman ahead of her time – or at least, that’s what I tell myself when I’m reading…
I’ve always been fascinated by W.G. Grace, the English cricketer from the 19th century. As I write about him, I’m drawn to his contradictions – a man who was both revered and reviled, admired for his skill on the field…
Walter Ong’s writing on media has been haunting me for weeks now. I keep thinking about how he described the shift from oral to literate culture, and how it changed human consciousness. It sounds so abstract, but somehow it resonates…
Susan Stebbing. I only recently came across her name, tucked away in a footnote of a philosophy textbook. At first, I thought it was just another obscure figure from the early 20th century, someone whose work would be quaintly interesting…
Giacomo Leopardi’s words have been swirling around me like a perpetual storm for months now. I picked up his works during my final year of college, and as I read through the poems and essays, I felt a strange sense…
I’ve been thinking a lot about A.E. Housman lately, trying to figure out why his life resonates with me. Maybe it’s the way he struggled to find his place in the world, or perhaps it’s the intensity of his emotions…
I find myself drawn to Wyndham Lewis, the British modernist writer and artist, because of his intense dislike for his contemporaries, particularly James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. As someone who has navigated the complexities of academic relationships and found herself…
Maurice Blanchot – the more I think about him, the more he unsettles me. It’s not just his name that sounds like a French poet, it’s the way he writes about writing that makes me feel…distracted. Like I’m trying to…
Penelope Fitzgerald’s life is a reminder that sometimes the most beautiful things can be quietly devastating. I find myself drawn to her story, not because she was flashy or attention-grabbing, but precisely because of the opposite: she was a woman…
I’ve always been fascinated by I.A. Richards, the British philosopher and literary critic who lived most of his life in the early 20th century. What draws me to him is the way he seemed to be constantly questioning himself –…
I’ve been thinking a lot about Albrecht Durer lately, ever since I stumbled upon his self-portraits in an art history textbook. There’s something about the intensity of his gaze that unsettles me – it’s as if he’s daring me to…
I’ve been reading Helene Cixous for weeks now, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around her ideas about women’s writing and the body. As a writer myself, I’m drawn to her emphasis on the importance of personal experience…
George Gissing – the author who’s been quietly lingering in my thoughts for months now. I first picked up his novel “New Grub Street” after a friend recommended it, and since then, I’ve found myself drawn back to his writing…
I’ve been thinking a lot about Frantz Fanon lately, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why he fascinates me so much. Maybe it’s because his writing is like a mirror held up to my own experiences as a young woman…
A.R. Ammons. The more I think about him, the more I get tangled up in my own thoughts. His poetry, with its dense language and sprawling lines, always made me feel like I was trying to catch a fish with…
I’ve always been fascinated by Joyce Carol Oates, partly because she seems to embody the contradictions that I’m still trying to navigate myself. As a writer, she’s prolific – I mean, over 160 books? That’s mind-boggling. And yet, her work…
Wilhelm Dilthey’s name keeps popping up in my philosophy of history class, but it wasn’t until I stumbled upon his concept of “objectivity” that I felt a spark of curiosity. As someone who’s always struggled to find her footing in…
Isabelle Eberhardt’s life has been a persistent presence in my thoughts lately, like a gentle hum that refuses to fade into the background. I’ve found myself drawn to her story, again and again, as if searching for some hidden thread…
Lewis Mumford – the name has been stuck in my head for weeks now, ever since I stumbled upon one of his essays while working on a paper about urban planning. At first, it was just another name, another face…
