Proverbs With Nationalist Pretensions
Proverbs tend to be assigned to, ascribed to or claimed by nations or nationalities. Silly really, because proverbs are, by definition, universal in nature. On the other hand, some connections - if somewhat stereotypical - make intuitive sense:
The Tsarina’s breasts yield milk, not wine. (Russian proverb of the upper crust)
You can’t heat a stove on […]
The Writer’s Voice
The 10th annual Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival is over. It was, for me at least, a treasure trove. I always take copious notes when I attend a lecture or panel discussion because I know I will end up dwelling on the more interesting concepts and using some of the ideas as starting points for […]
Picture Perfect
“Brevity is the soul of wit”, wrote William Shakespeare in Hamlet. It is also one of the key elements in making quotations…well…quotable. A quote is the literary equivalent of the 10-second sound bite. It has to be quick and, yes, it has to bite. If properly delivered, few get the chance to bite back.
So before […]
Take a Ride on the Reading
Alberto Manguel is an erudite and eloquent observer of the human condition. A Reading Diary (Knopf Canada, 2004) is his one-a-month, later-in-life revisiting of his favorite classics. Each book is a point of departure for philosophical musings and philological mischief. Each spins off quotes and anecdotes that lead the reader behind and beyond the text. […]
