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(an excerpt from an interview with the paris review, spring of 1958)
Q: Who would you say are your literary forebears—those you have learned the most from?A: Mark Twain, Flaubert, Stendhal, Bach, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Andrew Marvell, John Donne, Maupassant, the good Kipling, Thoreau, Captain Marryat, Shakespeare, Mozart, Quevedo, Dante, Virgil, Tintoretto, Hieronymus Bosch, Brueghel, Patinir, Goya, Giotto, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, San Juan de la Cruz, Góngora—it would take a day to remember everyone. Then it would sound as though I were claiming an erudition I did not possess instead of trying to remember all the people who have been an influence on my life and work. This isn’t an old dull question. It is a very good but a solemn question and requires an examination of conscience. I put in painters, or started to, because I learn as much from painters about how to write as from writers. You ask how this is done? It would take another day of explaining. I should think what one learns from composers and from the study of harmony and counterpoint would be obvious.
i was a really odd child. instead of playing outside with friends on hot summer days, i'd go to the library with my dad and sister and bring home a pile of books almost as tall as i was. but i was no baby genius, oh no, i wasn't reading tolstoy! the majority of my books were of the mystical persuasion; tarot cards, mind reading, astrology, and the most relevant to the story below, the interpretation of dreams.
much of what i gathered from these dream interpretation frameworks was, well, that much of it was bullshit. but some of the more serious books (the boring ones!) did point out the link between waking life and dreams. see, the story goes like this:
my friend guy had his bike sitting in my place for the past month; he was waiting patiently for the most opportune moment to come pick it up. the weather was delightful yesterday so why wait any longer? he mentioned to me that he had hoped he could get it tuned up in the near future. of course this sparked some kind of subconscious processes and i ended up having the most fantastic dream about the most fantastic bike, pictured here:
so check it, there i am at the bus terminal in kitchener waiting for the next 7 to roll around. i take a look around me and there he is! this guy! this guy with a great little handlebar moustache, surrounded by a glorious array of interior decor items and knick-knacks, and standing behind the sparkling bike. it was such a lovely scene, i had to approach him, and you know what i say? i kid you not, i said, word for word, "oh my god, how are you so awesome that you have that bike?" (damn my fan-girl ways! so embarrassing). he just looks at me for a bit, not saying anything and when he finally does, GET THIS! HE'S GERMAN! he can't understand a single thing i said! but dreams are magical, you know, and so this super nice girl comes out of the wood works and says she'll translate! cool! she tells him i think his bike is fantastic as i look around at his other belongings: a large wooden display frame filled with vintage beer bottles (inspiration for future apartment), a rustic industrial lamp, and a beaten up trunk.
after a brief, translated conversation, he went on his merry way and my dream progressed to stranger, more embarrassing territory. i do not wish to divulge anything more than it involved the jonas brothers and chat roulette. make of that what you will.
(postscript: the bike is from aurumania.com, its production was limited to 50, and the frame and forks are plated with 24-carat gold. oh yeah, and it costs 21,000 euros.)
everyone seems to be going goo-goo ga-ga over the new sonia rykiel collection for h&m but their excitement is causing them to overlook something just as fantastic in the horizon. at the end of march, expect to see a colourful, flowing, ethereal collection that serves as a gentle reminder that spring has indeed sprung. the garden collection, aptly named, strikes up images of prim english gardens with rosy textured numbers such as this:
as well as laid back country side pieces perfect for a leisurely stroll on your bike:
splashes of colour, like water paints, are perfectly incorporated into the collection and manage to create a style resistant to the pastels which litter the spring forecasts:
Inspired not only by gardens, but also the aesthetic of the seventies flower child, the collection is a romantic as well as a...wait for it... SUSTAINABLE one. Despite their polished looks, each item in the collection is made with organic cottons and linens, recycled polyester (made from PET bottles!) and tencel (per h&m press release, 'a renewable material produced with minimal environmental impact').check out the rest of the sunny collection at the collection's website: http://www.hmthegardencollection.com/
