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Izzah Camelia
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“I propose a conspiracy of orphans. We exchange winks. We reject hierarchies. All hierarchies. We take the shit of the world for granted and we exchange stories about how we nevertheless get by. We are impertinent. More than half the stars in the universe are orphan-stars belonging to no constellation. And they give off more light than all the constellation stars.” ― John Berger, Confabulations
We tend to associate intimacy with closeness and closeness with a certain sum of shared experiences. Yet every day total strangers, who will never say a single word to one another, can share an intimacy. An intimacy contained in the exchange of a glance, a nod of the head, a smile, a shrug of a shoulder. A closeness which lasts for a second or for the duration of a song being sung and listened to together. An agreement about life. An agreement without clauses.
— John Berger, Confabulations (Verso Books, 2016) (via The Hammock Papers)
Time, as Einstein and other physicists have explained, is not linear but circular. Our lives are not points on a line—a line that is today being amputated by the Instant Greed of the unprecedented global capitalist order—rather, we are the centres of circles. The circles surround us with testaments addressed to us by our predecessors since the Stone Age, and by texts that are not addressed to us but that can be witnessed by us— texts from nature, from the universe—and they remind us that symmetry coexists with chaos, that ingenuities outflank fatalities, that what is desired is more reassuring than what is promised. Then, sustained by what we have inherited from the past and what we witness, we will have the courage to resist and continue resisting in as yet unimaginable circumstances. We will learn how to wait in solidarity. Just as we will continue indefinitely to praise, to swear, and to curse in every language we know.
John Berger, from ‘How to Resist a State of Forgetfulness’, Confabulations
“To be a human being is the main thing above all else. And that means to be firm and clear and cheerful, yes, cheerful in spite of everything and anything, because howling is the business of the weak. To be a human being means to joyfully toss your entire life in the giant scales of fate if it must be so, and at the same time to rejoice in the brightness of every day and the beauty of every cloud.”
John Berger, Confabulations
what are you reading atm? and what do you think about it?
hi!! i’m finally reading john berger’s confabulations, which i bought months ago. it’s brilliant. i had a lot of expectations for it because i’ve been interested in his work/life for a while (esp ways of seeing which i need to read soon) and so far i’m not at all disappointed. it’s a very pulling book. i like his essays because his way of writing allows the readers to understand what he means fairly easily. it’s a well constructed thought process, and very accessible. plus they’re short essays so i can read them to & from classes on the subway, which is a blessing because otherwise i don’t have the time to read much during the day! anyway, i highly recommend! especially if interested in language and its’ various forms <3 thanks for the ask!
"You often come out of a page when I'm reading, and sometimes out of a page I'm trying to write; come out to join me with a toss of your head and a smile."
John Berger, Confabulations.
I propose a conspiracy of orphans. We exchange winks. We reject hierarchies. All hierarchies. We take the shit of the world for granted and we exchange stories about how we nevertheless get by. We are impertinent. More than half the stars in the universe are orphan-stars belonging to no constellation. And they give off more light than all the constellation stars. Yes we are impertinent. And I guess that I approach and chat up readers in the same way. As if you too were orphans.
Confabulations, John Berger
“Ever expanding human poverty and the ongoing pillaging of the planet are justified in the name of a utopia to be guaranteed by Market Forces, when they are unregulated and allowed to operate freely; a utopia in which, in Milton Friedman's words, 'each man can vote for the colour of the tie he wants.' In any utopian vision happiness is obligatory. This means that in reality it's unobtainable. Within their utopian logic compassion is a weakness. Utopias despise the present. Utopias substitute Dogma for Hope. Dogmas are engraved; hopes flicker, by contrast, like the flame of a candle.”
John Berger, ‘Some Notes About Song (for Yasmin Hamdan)’
