Category: People

George Oppen: Knots in the Language (and My Sanity)

Penelope

George Oppen’s poetry always makes me feel like I’m trying to untangle a knot while simultaneously watching it grow tighter. It’s a sensation that’s both maddening and mesmerizing, like staring at a puzzle with pieces that refuse to fit together.…

Cesare Beccaria: The Heretic Next Door

Penelope

I’ve been reading Cesare Beccaria’s “On Crimes and Punishments” for what feels like an eternity, but I’m not even halfway through it. Yet, somehow, his ideas have become a constant hum in the background of my mind. His thoughts on…

Nella Larsen: A Cipher in My Head

Penelope

Nella Larsen. Her name has been stuck in my head for months now, like a line from a poem I’ve yet to decipher. What draws me to her, really? Is it the way she defied convention, embracing her mixed heritage…

A S Byatt: When the Truth Gets Lost in the Margins

Penelope

I’ve always been fascinated by A.S. Byatt’s writing, but it wasn’t until I stumbled upon her essay collection “On Histories” that I felt a deep connection to her work. Her musings on the complexities of storytelling and the blurred lines…