Joseph Brodsky proved that English could be entered late yet inhabited fully. Writing from exile, he transformed a second language into a moral homeland, sharpening its capacity for precision, ethical seriousness, and sustained thought. His English endures as disciplined refuge rather than inherited possession.
Death of Joseph Brodsky (1940–1996) – The Poet Who Made English a Language of Exile and Moral Precision
Je vous souhaite une très belle journée à toutes/tous 🙂 Aucune aurore boréaleNe pourra colorer mon ciel.Loin de toi je m’affaleRien n’est plus pareil. Je ne sais plus comment je visDans ces instants loin de toiChaque jour je me languisJe sens la morsure du froidCelle qui me paralyseQuand l’absence perdureCelle qui me brutaliseSans plus d’ouverture […]
Seul ton amour éclaire mon ciel – Only your love lights up my sky
Lewis Carroll revealed that English could think by playing. Through paradox and precision, his nonsense showed that illogic may conceal rigorous logic. By bending syntax and meaning, he expanded English imagination, proving that language gains depth when rules are tested, inverted, and joyfully broken through wit curiosity and fearless play.
Birth of Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) – The Writer Who Taught English How to Play
E. T. A. Hoffmann reshaped literary imagination by turning terror inward. His stories fractured reality, destabilized reason, and made the mind itself the stage of fear and wonder. Through translation, his influence transformed English fantasy, horror, and psychological fiction, expanding narrative depth and redefining how literature explores consciousness.
Birth of E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) – The Writer Who Taught English to Fear the Mind
January 24 was the birthday of Hedwig “Vicki” Baum (1888-1960). The Viennese-born writer is not widely known by name in the U.S. though it ought to be: her name is on over a dozen Hollywood movies, the biggest success of which was MGM’s smash 1932 adaptation of Grand Hotel, along with many remakes and sequels. […]
Vicki Baum: “Grand Hotel” and Beyond
Lord Byron transformed English poetry by making personality a driving force. His verse fused irony and passion, grandeur and mockery, discipline and volatility. Through works like Childe Harold and Don Juan, Byron proved English could sustain emotional risk, tonal freedom, and self-conscious performance without losing intellectual control.
Birth of Lord Byron (1788–1824) – The Poet Who Made English Dangerous Again
William Congreve refined English comedy into a discipline of precision and balance. His dialogue proved that wit could be elegant without dullness and sharp without cruelty. Through controlled syntax and intellectual play, he trained English to argue gracefully, speak economically, and reward attentive listeners with layered meaning and social intelligence.
Death of William Congreve (1670–1729) – The Writer Who Perfected English Wit
Identity, dating, and existentialism.
Blink 53: Who Am I? An Existential Perspective
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