What Is Love? Famous Definitions from 400 Years of Literary History by Maria Popova “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only with what you are expecting to give — which is everything.” After those collections of notable definitions of art, science, and philosophy, what better way to start a new year than with a selection of poetic definitions of a peculiar phenomenon that is at once more amorphous than art, more single-minded than science, and more philosophical than philosophy itself? Gathered here are some of the most memorable and timeless insights on love, culled from several hundred years of literary history — enjoy. Kurt Vonnegut, who was in some ways an extremist about love but also had a healthy dose of irreverence about it, in The Sirens of Titan: A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved. Anaïs Nin, whose wisdom on love knew no bounds, in A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller, 1932-1953: What is love but acceptance of the other, whatever he is. C. E.
Virginia Woolf on How to Read a Book by Maria Popova “Do not dictate to your author; try to become him. Be his fellow-worker and accomplice.” “The mind, the brain, the top of the tingling spine, is, or should be, the only instrument used upon a book,” Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his treatise on what makes a good reader. “Part of a reader’s job is to find out why certain writers endure,” advised Francine Prose in her guide to reading like a writer. Woolf begins with the same disclaimer of subjectivity that John Steinbeck issued half a century later in his six timeless tips on writing. The only advice … that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. She cautions against bringing baggage and pre-conceived notions to your reading: [F]ew people ask from books what books can give us. Woolf reminds us of the osmotic skills of reading and writing: To exercise the imagination, she argues, is itself a special skill: Share on Tumblr
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Virginia Woolf’s London Virginia Woolf is considered by many to be one of the greatest British writers, for her timeless exploration of the human condition but also for addressing the key anxieties of the post-First World War society. A born-and-bred Londoner, she was a key member of the highly influential Bloomsbury Group who lived in that quarter while producing some of the most influential and poignant literary texts of the 20th century. The National Portrait Gallery’s current exhibition Virginia Woolf: Art, Life and Vision is the perfect excuse to explore some of the London haunts that influenced Woolf’s life and works. The early years Woolf was born Adeline Virginia Stephen in January 1882, the youngest daughter of the successful author and critic Sir Leslie Stephen. While still living at the family home, Woolf enrolled at King’s College London. The early works A return to Bloomsbury In March 1924, Woolf returned to live in London full-time after a decade in Surrey, moving to 52 Tavistock Square. Hatchards.