On Quiet review: Nikki Gemmell investigates the need for a bit of peace


READ MORE

On Quiet


Nikki Gemmell


On Quiet. By Nikki Gemmell.

On Quiet. By Nikki Gemmell.


Photo: Supplied

Melbourne University Press, $14.99


When Matthew Arnold wrote of himself “… I am fragments”, he prefigured a modern condition that is a handy way into Nikki Gemmell’s meditative quest for “quietude”, which incorporates notions of space, tranquillity and calmness. Though thematically linked, it is episodic and could be called fragments from a modern woman’s life: whether running kids to school, contemplating Virginia Woolf wading into the Ouse (the “opposite of quietude”) or a last farewell to a sick friend. And noise doesn’t necessarily equate to sound, the sheer frenzy of things now, with the incessant intrusions of smartphones, even during sex, are expressions of a frantic life that denies us quietude. Only in fleeting moments when we come across a clearing in the clutter of contemporary living – alone in the car, in the bush, under a starry sky – do we feel that.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World Cup Central: Dhoni, Akhtar, Botham in All Blacks all-time cricket XV

READ MORE Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print World Cup fever has crossed platforms. There was Harry Kane sneaking into India’s training sessions to meet Virat Kohli. And now there’s the All Blacks picking a XV made up of past and present cricketers. With the @cricketworldcup underway in England, we’ve taken a look at all the best players from past and present to select the ultimate Cricket XV! SQUAD NOTES https://t.co/B3rnj5OBuJ #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/KuUtPU77PT — All Blacks (@AllBlacks) June 2, 2019 And they’ve got some pretty cool reasons for picking some pretty cool players. Curtly Ambrose : If anyone wants to argue with this selection then take it up with Sir Curtly himself. We dare you. MS Dhoni : The Richie McCaw of Cricket. Enough said. Dwayne Leverock : Famous for his one-handed catch at the 2003 World Cup, the 130kg Bermudian would surely make just as big a splash on the rugby field. Jofra Archer runs in to bowl  Get...
Read more

Non-surgical rhinoplasty is on the rise, but not everyone is convinced

Image
READ MORE I can remember about 10 years ago going to a Cosmetex cosmetic surgery conference in Sydney where a doctor gave a demonstration, injecting the filler Restylane (a form of hyaluronic acid ) into a hooked nose; the de-bumping results were really impressive, and it only took 15 minutes. Since then there has been a steady rise in the use of nose fillers: also referred to as the non surgical nose job. Now, I have had the full-blown open rhinoplasty surgical version so am keen to drill down (pardon the pun) and find out more about the ins and outs of the “liquid nose job”. “Liquid nose jobs” are on the rise. Photo: Shutterstock Shereene Idriss a clinical instructor in dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and a cosmetic dermatologist at Union Square Laser Dermatology in New York City, has lots to say on her #pillowtalkderm about the pitfalls of the liquid nose job. “Liquid rhinoplasty, as seen on social media, appears to be t...
Read more

Tens of thousands protest Trump's immigration laws in 700 cities

Image
READ MORE Tens of thousands of demonstrators, baking in the heat and boiling mad at US immigration policy, marched across the country Saturday to protest the separation of families under President Donald Trump’s hardline agenda. Directly across from the White House, demonstrators filled Lafayette Square park in an atmosphere of both indignation and sadness, before marching toward the Capitol. “We don’t believe in borders, we don’t believe in walls,” Sebastian Medina-Tayac, of the Piscataway Indian Nation, declared in English and Spanish at the start of the rally dubbed “Families Belong Together.” Loudspeakers broadcast the cries of a child split from its relatives, as a Brazilian mother told of being separated from her own son. “I missed nine months of his life and it should never have happened,” said the woman, Jocelyn, whose case dates from before the practice of separating families intensified in May. “Shame! Shame!” ...
Read more