Photo: Lukke
1) L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE
Walk down the Boulevard Haussman
toward the Arc de Triomphe in the summer,
watch its majestic shape and golden stones appear
between the green leaves until you can clearly see
La Marseillaise by Rude. Stare with your mouth open,
feel the wind whistling through the arch,
see the flame of the Unknown Soldier.
Feel small and overwhelmed.
Just as Napoléon
(on the left)
(on the left)
intended.
2) BURGUNDY
A region as
lush and voluptuous
as its foie gras and wines
in bottles with hips instead of
shoulders like Bordeaux bottles.
2) BURGUNDY
A region as
lush and voluptuous
as its foie gras and wines
in bottles with hips instead of
shoulders like Bordeaux bottles.
For a good time try lunch at the Moulin des Ruats near Avallon.
…”a marvelously aromatic wine, with a velvety texture which
culminates in a persistent and powerful finish in the mouth”.
I once bet a condescending cinematographer a bottle
of this wine that it would rain the next day.
culminates in a persistent and powerful finish in the mouth”.
I once bet a condescending cinematographer a bottle
of this wine that it would rain the next day.
It did and he duly went to buy the wine,
returning, ashen-faced, with the bottle
which was more expensive
than he’d ever dreamed
a wine could be.
3) John LE CARRÉ
the only writer I know who can shock you on the page.
You have to go back and read the passage again
to see how he punched you in the gut.
To do this, he carefully slows down the action,
quiets the scene so we hear only small
sounds like a distant dog barking,
he moves in close to
the protagonist
then, POW!
Read The Honorable Schoolboy
and you’ll see what I mean.
4) FLYING
I get so excited taking off in a Boeing or an Airbus
I feel as though I’m flying on my own. Without a plane.
My dreams of flying are always vertical.
None of this lying down Superman stuff for me.
I fly standing up.
Try it.
5) YELLOW
and all things xanthous: egg yolks, early morning sunlight,
dandelions (dents-de-lion: the leaves do look like lion’s teeth),
a pan of cadmium yellow in my paintbox,
mustard flowers, buttercups.
6) SHARPENING A PENCIL
by hand. The scent of sliced wood,
the pungent pong of graphite, the bitter bite of paint.
The satisfaction of slicing through soft wood
and achieving the
pointiest of
points.
7) LAUGHTER
Your face splits in two and your body shakes with
a burst of mirthful HA-s. For a few moments
you’re possessed by a rhythmic force
that leaves you purged, refreshed
and coursing with endorphins.
8) CONNECTING
that moment when you see comprehension
dawn in someone’s eyes and
their face opens and
you both get a
warm fuzzy
feeling.
9) FILMS
Magic time is when the lights dim and you slip into another world, become someone else, live a different life for a couple of hours.
This is also known as the Transportation Business.
10) LOVE
is when you see and
feel seen by someone
who knows how
to look.
*
LECARRE, COMMUNICATION, YELLOW, FILMS, LOVE, Laughter, PARIS, BURGUNDY
To do this, he carefully slows down the action,
quiets the scene so we hear only small
sounds like a distant dog barking,
he moves in close to
the protagonist
then, POW!
Read The Honorable Schoolboy
and you’ll see what I mean.
4) FLYING
I get so excited taking off in a Boeing or an Airbus
I feel as though I’m flying on my own. Without a plane.
My dreams of flying are always vertical.
None of this lying down Superman stuff for me.
I fly standing up.
Try it.
5) YELLOW
and all things xanthous: egg yolks, early morning sunlight,
dandelions (dents-de-lion: the leaves do look like lion’s teeth),
a pan of cadmium yellow in my paintbox,
mustard flowers, buttercups.
6) SHARPENING A PENCIL
by hand. The scent of sliced wood,
the pungent pong of graphite, the bitter bite of paint.
The satisfaction of slicing through soft wood
and achieving the
pointiest of
points.
7) LAUGHTER
Your face splits in two and your body shakes with
a burst of mirthful HA-s. For a few moments
you’re possessed by a rhythmic force
that leaves you purged, refreshed
and coursing with endorphins.
8) CONNECTING
that moment when you see comprehension
dawn in someone’s eyes and
their face opens and
you both get a
warm fuzzy
feeling.
9) FILMS
Magic time is when the lights dim and you slip into another world, become someone else, live a different life for a couple of hours.
This is also known as the Transportation Business.
10) LOVE
is when you see and
feel seen by someone
who knows how
to look.
*
LECARRE, COMMUNICATION, YELLOW, FILMS, LOVE, Laughter, PARIS, BURGUNDY
