D. James
D. James
funny-friendship war forgiving
We English are good at forgiving our enemies; it releases us from the obligation of liking our friends.
writing world language
We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.
breathing metaphysical speculation
Metaphysical speculation is about as pointless as a discussion on the meaning of one's lungs. They're for breathing.
alzheimers tragedy disease
The great tragedy of Alzheimer's disease, and the reason why we dread it, is that it leaves us with no defence, not even against those who love us.
morning years two
Early this morning, 1 January 2021, three minutes after midnight, the last human being to be born on earth was killed in a pub brawl in a suburb of Buenos Aires, aged twenty-five years, two months and twelve days.
writing nurse publishers
Publishers don't nurse you; they buy and sell you.
pain get-well mind
Time didn't heal, but it anesthetized. The human mind could only feel so much.
new-experiences people mind
Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
age caricatures old-age
Old age makes caricatures of us all.
retirement people unemployment
Work did bestow dignity, status, meaning. Wasn't that why people dreaded unemployment, why some men found retirement so traumatic?
realization might peculiar
Unnatural death always provoked a peculiar unease, an uncomfortable realization that there were still some things that might not be susceptible to bureaucratic control.
writing order appreciate
read widely, not in order to copy someone else's style, but to learn to appreciate and recognize good writing and to see how the best writers have achieved their result. Poor writing is, unfortunately, infectious and should be avoided.
expectations essentials may
A picnic may well be a metaphor for life. The essentials for happiness are the right company, moderate if sanguine expectations and a reasonable standard of physical sustenance and comfort, the whole being bedeviled by the belief that there is always something better to be had if only one presses on.
together reason humans
Of all the things that human beings did together, the sexual act was the one with the most various of reasons.