William Blake Saw the Fnords

Sebald on Sense of Place

A sense of place distinguishes a piece of writing. It may be a distillation of different places. There must be a very good reason for not describing place. -Max Sebald

Foucault on knowing "what you are"

‎"I don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning.”
― Michel Foucault

Homemade Magic

Abstract: The tradition of placing objects and symbols within, under, on, and around buildings for supernatural protection and good luck, as an act of formal or informal consecration, or as an element of other magico-religious or mundane ritual, has been documented throughout the world. This thesis examines the material culture of magic and folk ritual in the eastern United States, focusing on objects deliberately concealed within and around standing structures. While a wide range of objects and symbols are considered, in-depth analysis focuses on three artifact types: witch bottles, concealed footwear, and concealed cats. This thesis examines the European origins of ritual concealments, their transmission to North America, and their continuation into the modern era. It also explores how culturally derived cognitive frameworks, including cosmology, religion, ideology, and worldview, as well as the concepts of family and household, may have influenced or encouraged the use of ritual concealments among certain groups.

by M. Chris Manning

http://www.academia.edu/2174815/Homemade_Magic_Concealed_Deposits_in_Architectural_Contexts_in_the_Eastern_United_States

Houllebecq on Lovecraft

Life is painful and disappointing. It is useless, therefore, to write new realistic novels. We generally know where we stand in relation to reality and don’t care to know any more. Humanity, such as it is, inspires only an attenuated curiosity in us. All those prodigiously refined ‘notations’, ‘situations’, anecdotes . . . All they do, once the book has been set aside, is reinforce the slight revulsion that is already adequately nourished by any one of our ‘real life’ days. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jun/04/featuresreviews.guardianreview6