Cartography

I haven't bearings yet. I didn't leave the house yesterday. I'm not sure which direction to take this new year. It is winter now, not holiday. There is much to consider. I feel a lethargy and wish to hibernate, or at least fall down for a winter's sleep, but that will be impossible. A vow of silence, perhaps, would do, while I wait and watch and get the lay of the land. Will Self has just published a book about "modern landscapes and contemporary angst" that I will have to read. And a collection of stories by Ha Jin is said to continue to explore the new post-national soul and the search for identity in a many-cultured world.

This article in the New York Times Book Review really got my attention this morning. For those of you who have felt an ambivalence about the contemporary male voice (or worse), Katie Roiphe offers some insights. You can listen the interview here.

There is a lot of re-mapping going on at the same instant that some desire to rid themselves of mapmakers altogether, for borders are still borders and boundaries still boundaries no matter how you draw them. I think I want to walk the world to see for myself, a stranger in a strange land. Really, we all will have to. I don't think we'll have much choice.