The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads by Maria Popova

May Sarton on How to Live Openheartedly in a Harsh World
May Sarton on How to Live Openheartedly in a Harsh World

“We have to keep the channels in ourselves open to pain. At the same time it is essential that true joys be experienced, that the sunrise not leave us unmoved, for civilization depends on the true joys.”

read article

Nick Cave on the Antidote to Our Existential Helplessness
Nick Cave on the Antidote to Our Existential Helplessness

Stepping up to the subtle gestures that can redeem a day, or a life.

read article

To a Wreath of Snow: Patti Smith Reads Emily Brontë
To a Wreath of Snow: Patti Smith Reads Emily Brontë

In praise of the “voiceless, soulless messenger” that comforts and sustains.

read article

Herbie Hancock’s Antidote to Burnout
Herbie Hancock’s Antidote to Burnout

“We usually define ourselves by what we do… There’s a big trip with all of that.”

read article

Ram Dass on Love
Ram Dass on Love

“To possess the key is to lose it.”

read article

Love, Music, Solitude, and How to Be More Alive: The Best of The Marginalian 2022
Love, Music, Solitude, and How to Be More Alive: The Best of The Marginalian 2022

From Emily Dickinson to Bruce Springsteen, by way of galaxies and gardening.

read article

The Seamstress Who Solved the Ancient Mystery of the Argonaut, Pioneered the Aquarium, and Laid the Groundwork for the Study of Octopus Intelligence
The Seamstress Who Solved the Ancient Mystery of the Argonaut, Pioneered the Aquarium, and Laid the Groundwork for the Study of Octopus Intelligence

“I armed myself with patience and courage, and only after several months managed to dissolve my doubts and see my research crowned with happy confirmation.”

read article

Music and the Price of What We Cherish: Margaret Atwood on the Bonds and Obligations of Creative Gifts
Music and the Price of What We Cherish: Margaret Atwood on the Bonds and Obligations of Creative Gifts

“Gifts transform the soul in ways that simple commodities cannot.”

read article

Symbiosis and the Unself: Evolutionary Biologist Lynn Margulis on How Interbeing Shapes Life on Earth
Symbiosis and the Unself: Evolutionary Biologist Lynn Margulis on How Interbeing Shapes Life on Earth

“Living beings defy neat definition… We abide in a symbiotic world.”

read article

In Praise of Walking: A Poetic Manifesto for Our Simplest Instrument of Discovery, Transformation, and Transcendence
In Praise of Walking: A Poetic Manifesto for Our Simplest Instrument of Discovery, Transformation, and Transcendence

“That something exists outside ourselves and our preoccupations, so near, so readily available, is our greatest blessing.”

read article

View Full Site

The Marginalian participates in the Bookshop.org and Amazon.com affiliate programs, designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to books. In more human terms, this means that whenever you buy a book from a link here, I receive a small percentage of its price, which goes straight back into my own colossal biblioexpenses. Privacy policy. (TLDR: You're safe — there are no nefarious "third parties" lurking on my watch or shedding crumbs of the "cookies" the rest of the internet uses.)