BOOKS – WRITING – HUMOR – ABSURD
written by Laolu Ogundele What happens when you get a small-sized receptacle, throw in a dash of creativity, a mix of boisterous optimism, and more than a sprinkling of chaos? You get a city called Lagos. Occupying a combined 1400 square mile area in the southwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria, the ancient town comprises a beautiful network of islands, lagoons and sandbars. With its teeming 24 million inhabitants, Lagos is the...
written by Jessica Hope (guest post) Give me a decent bottle of poison and I’ll construct the perfect crime. Agatha Christie Made famous by the likes of Agatha Christie in her captivating novels, poison has become the popular choice of weapon in mystery books. From Murder Is Easy, to Sparkling Cyanide, Christie had an incredible ability to build complex narratives around poison. As we know, this ability was born during her...
Facts Charles Péguy was a French novelist, dramatist, and idealist – who later in life became deeply fascinated by mysticism, the fight against fascism, the search for world peace, and the analysis of artistic genius. Quotes “Love is rarer than genius itself and friendship is rarer than love.” “Tyranny is always better organized than freedom.” “We must always tell what we see. Above all, and this is more difficult, we...
“The world has become like the world in my books,” wrote Andre Malraux. The 30s of the XX century were the time of global upheaval and change in Western society. The world was perceived as absurd, and the fate of man as random and nonsensical. Inspired by new literary styles, Andre Malraux turned to existential themes and mythology much earlier than other writers. Many of them, including Camus, called him...
Day 17 A Dope Party /absurdist comedy/ When I poked out from the intimate saloon of Mrs. WickedBreaker, it was as bright as day – the moon was shining. Then a cool breeze began to blow, and soon enough, the clouds covered the sky. I tried to sit down on the bench under the tree (it was a healthy motion my tired body needed, knowing what was to come), but...
#guestpost written by Laolu Ogundele “So, what’s your style”? Someone once asked me in the middle of a neighborhood writers meetup I attended a decade or so ago. “Straight jeans, dark-colored zip hoodies, and basketball shoes…” I began, but my voice trailed off as I noticed a couple of people try hard and fail to stifle a laugh. “I mean writing style,” the original asker graciously clarified. “Oh, my bad....
Screw Quarter Day 13 /absurdist comedy/ I welcomed the first rays of sun with enthusiastic cheer. After a long trip – full of obstacles, spiritual slumber, and excessive heat – I felt like a bear, awake and moving in the direction of the dawning light. We arrived at the east riverbank of Gunung Kinabalu, closer to the lunch. Three cars, one of which was a beautiful Bentley R-Type Continental from...
Day 9 The Ark /absurdist comedy/ When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear. My ex-wife, Martha, took the definition of angry to another level. When she realized where she was, she started to swing the raft, madly kicking the wood floor. Three muscular Hamilton sisters pressed Martha’s body against the wet boards, but she did not give up. She slipped out from under their fingers, grabbed Mr. Brahman-Carrado’s suitcase,...