The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “culture”

Albert Camus on the Three Antidotes to the Absurdity of Life
Albert Camus on the Three Antidotes to the Absurdity of Life

“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among men, a greater sincerity.”

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When Things Fall Apart: Tibetan Buddhist Nun and Teacher Pema Chödrön on Transformation Through Difficult Times
When Things Fall Apart: Tibetan Buddhist Nun and Teacher Pema Chödrön on Transformation Through Difficult Times

“Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.”

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Thoreau on Writing and the Splendors of Mystery in an Age of Knowledge
Thoreau on Writing and the Splendors of Mystery in an Age of Knowledge

“Do not seek expressions, seek thoughts to be expressed.”

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How to Live with Death
How to Live with Death

Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips on how Darwin and Freud reframed our mortality as an organizing principle of human life.

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Frida Kahlo on the Meanings of the Colors
Frida Kahlo on the Meanings of the Colors

From the color of madness and mystery to that of distance and tenderness.

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The Drift Called the Infinite: Emily Dickinson on Making Sense of Loss
The Drift Called the Infinite: Emily Dickinson on Making Sense of Loss

Reflections on silence and eternity from the poet laureate of death.

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The World’s First Celestial Spectator Sport: Astronomer Maria Mitchell’s Stunning Account of the 1869 Total Solar Eclipse
The World’s First Celestial Spectator Sport: Astronomer Maria Mitchell’s Stunning Account of the 1869 Total Solar Eclipse

“All nature rejoiced, and … we rejoiced with Nature.”

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A Bioluminescent Wonder: Rachel Carson on the Art of Illuminating Nature Beyond Scientific Fact
A Bioluminescent Wonder: Rachel Carson on the Art of Illuminating Nature Beyond Scientific Fact

A transcendent account of “one of those experiences that gives an odd and hard-to-describe feeling, with so many overtones beyond the facts themselves.”

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Elizabeth Barrett Browning on Love and the Seductions of Honesty
Elizabeth Barrett Browning on Love and the Seductions of Honesty

“You must prepare yourself to forbear and to forgive — will you?”

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Good Sense vs. Free Hope: Margaret Fuller on Reaping Wonder from Everyday Reality
Good Sense vs. Free Hope: Margaret Fuller on Reaping Wonder from Everyday Reality

“The mind is not … a highway, but a temple, and its doors should not be carelessly left open.”

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