6 Words

A few weeks ago I got tagged by Bernie Geyer with the latest meme of the time, the Six-Word Memoir. I had way too much on my plate to respond then, but post-mini-vacation with a bit more free time, I came up with this:

Someday I'll look back and laugh.

As others have done, I took this assignment more as an expression of my life now as opposed to memoir per se. I am far too young for memoir!

If you feel so inclined, consider yourself tagged.

Liberation

"I see in the present and the past knowledge, truth, moral strength, the striving for independence, love of beauty in a small handful of people who are treated as enemies, lost in an environment which does not sympathize with them. On the other hand I see the tight-fisted development of the remaining strata of society, with their narrow ideas, based upon tradition, their limited needs, a few strivings towards the good, a few feeble impulses towards evil... The mass is only a good when it is faceless. The development of the unique individual, that charming phenomenon, is what everything free, talented and strong works towards....

"If people would sooner or later get the idea of saving themselves rather than saving the world, of liberating themselves rather than liberating humanity, how much they would do towards saving the world and liberating humanity."—Alexander Herzen

Alexander Herzen was one of the great and original thinkers of the 19th Century. His memoir, My Past and Thoughts, is one of my most beloved books, not only for his thinking but for the humanity that is revealed in his character. I found the above quotations in a recent book by Lesley Chamberlain (author of the wonderful Nietzsche in Turin), entitled Motherland. I am only part way into it, but I can already recommend it highly for anyone interested in Russia, philosophy, or the history of ideas.

Another Publication

The whimsically (?) titled e-zine Origami Condom has published my poem "Oklahoma" in issue #6. Be advised that you will need Adobe Reader to open and read the issue.