Newsletter time!
Today’s piece has a wee essay for all, on the struggle for many writers to make sense of violence in their times.
That’s then followed by a fuller essay for my paid subscribers, in which we deep-dive into lessons to be gleaned from Thucydides, the Peloponnesian War, and Athenian struggles for a democracy we still haven’t perfected here and now.
#History #Democracy #BetterWorldsTheory
https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/lessons-from-ancient-fools
Before I dive into Thucydides, I hope you don't mind if I ask about those books in your childhood library... Were they mostly on shelves in your home, or were you also seeking them out at the library? I'm curious because I find the subject of childhood reading habits very interesting.
Some were, some weren't! But the library was a refuge I used to go to by myself from age nine on, and then in middle school and high school I always left home ASAP in the morning, to work in the halls until the library or a classroom opened.
We find some fun coping mechanisms when trying to get out of our head-spaces in homes with so much stress!
Have fun with The Peloponnesian War! Many editions to choose from these days, if you want something more lyrical or footnote-heavy!
AND I SHOULD ADD that I didn't just read the heavy stuff.
I also loved, loved, loved this series growing up. :) And read cartoons, and manga, and SFF, and anything else I could get my hands on.
It's such a fun, lighthearted series! A newspaper writer has two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. The latter is simply cute, but Koko has extra whiskers and a curious habit of giving our writer clues to solve mysteries. After a few books, he lands a windfall inheritance and moves to a small northern town with his cats, where he has quaint country mysteries to solve while living in a converted barn and getting by as an eccentric small-town columnist.
ADORABLE and filled with #LifeGoals 😂
Oh, wow, I just looked up the publication dates for those books.
Apparently the first three were in the '60s! Then the author took a well-deserved two decades off, and then picked up where she left off in the late '80s, continuing until the late '00s.
Now that is charming as heck. What a joy to return to a fun universe after so long!
I guess that means there's hope for us all. 🙃
@MLClark
Uh oh, our age difference is showing: I have no idea who that is!!! But the cat theme rocks, so...