A book is not an isolated being: it is a relationship, an axis of innumerable relationships.
– Jorge Luis Borges
THIS story from Rushdie about kissing books and bread is lovely. Like him, books are my first love, I’m lucky in that they came to me very early, and I’ve always maintained a love affair with words, with crisp pages, with stories.
Here are some poems that I like, I’ll be putting up pages for a collection of writers I like, and here’s an example of what I’m reading now.
I’m quite the intellectual mutt, interested in many things, and I’ve been influenced by many teachers and friends in my reading. Poach, Yew Leong, Shingyi and Minzhi have introduced me to some good writers. Shingyi introduced me to Rushdie and Toni Morrison when we were in college.
I’ve some juvenilia scattered around online, and I’m being more disciplined about my writing nowadays; I hope to put out a collection of poetry in the next two years.
There’s also the sensuous part of writing I haven’t given up – I always look forward to practising Chinese calligraphy, and I also love well-made paper and pretty postcards. It’s a pleasure to get real mail in the letterbox. I’m a collector of pretty stationery, and Etsy has been a boon, for you can get good quality letterpress material for decent prices.
The blog’s one convenient way to keep track of life and let friends know what’s been happening.