Thursday, October 18, 2007

Spadina streetcar, a familiar face.

Caucasian woman, mid 20s, with long brown hair tucked into a knitted cap. She leans against the window, breaking into frequent smiles. Is it the text or that certain thing she can't get off her mind?

The City of Words, Alberto Manguel (House of Anansi Press)

About page 126:

Not only through censorship of whole languages do totalitarian governments enforce restrictions on thought: by using certain words in specific contexts and by making up words to denote assumed rights and privileges, the impression can be created that what is being said in this new vocabulary is intrinsically true simply because words exist to say it: the words democracy, freedom of speech, equality, liberal are all good examples.
When she was 10, she sat with her best friend, cross-legged inside the mid noon glow of a blue pup tent, placing the first syllable at the end of each word, an "ay" tacked to the beginning, encoding a long list of all the boys they'd let kiss them on the mouths.

5 comments:

nataliafay said...

just found your blog and think its brill... i always see people on the tube and wonder how they're experiencing the book...

i wrote a blog about that kind of stuff too:

http://iamnataliaicanblog.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

I love the concept for this blog...I will be linking you to a book review blog that a friend and I do. Please feel free to check it out.
I would be someone you could catch reading, and depending on the book I could be chuckling or bawling like a baby.

Julie Wilson said...

Hullo both!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to drop a line! Much appreciated. So sweet how we're all doing our own version of the same thang. Reading must be cool or sexy or something. ;)

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, could this be me?
How beautiful and wonderful!

Julie Wilson said...

I just happen to know this particular sighting. If you know me, and I know you, then, yes, this is you!