The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “culture”

The Rigor of Angels: Human Nature and the Nature of Reality
The Rigor of Angels: Human Nature and the Nature of Reality

“What we are striving for lies inside us; we find ourselves in the world and the world in ourselves.”

read article

Milan Kundera on Animal Rights and What True Human Goodness Really Means
Milan Kundera on Animal Rights and What True Human Goodness Really Means

“True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to the fore only when its recipient has no power. Mankind’s true moral test, its fundamental test… consists of its attitude toward those who are at its mercy: animals.”

read article

Octavio Paz on Freedom
Octavio Paz on Freedom

“Without freedom, what we call a person does not exist.”

read article

Ursula K. Le Guin on Change, Menopause as Rebirth, and the Civilizational Value of Elders
Ursula K. Le Guin on Change, Menopause as Rebirth, and the Civilizational Value of Elders

“Into the space ship, Granny.”

read article

Center of the Universe: Non-Speaking Autistic Poet Hannah Emerson’s Extraordinary Poem About How to Be Reborn Each Day
Center of the Universe: Non-Speaking Autistic Poet Hannah Emerson’s Extraordinary Poem About How to Be Reborn Each Day

“Please try to go to hell frequently because you will find the light there.”

read article

Roxane Gay on Loving vs. Being in Love and the Mark of a Soul Mate
Roxane Gay on Loving vs. Being in Love and the Mark of a Soul Mate

“It isn’t perfect, not at all. It doesn’t need to be. It is, simply, what fills you up.”

read article

The Importance of Trusting Yourself: Nick Cave on the Relationship Between Creativity and Faith
The Importance of Trusting Yourself: Nick Cave on the Relationship Between Creativity and Faith

“There is more going on than we can see or understand, and we need to find a way to lean into the mystery of things.”

read article

After Love: Maxine Kumin’s Stunning Poem About Eros as a Portal to Unselfing
After Love: Maxine Kumin’s Stunning Poem About Eros as a Portal to Unselfing

read article

I Touched the Sun: A Tender Illustrated Fable About How to Find and Bear Your Inner Light
I Touched the Sun: A Tender Illustrated Fable About How to Find and Bear Your Inner Light

read article

How to Own Your Weakness: Alan Watts on the Confucian Concept of Jen and the Dangers of Self-Righteousness
How to Own Your Weakness: Alan Watts on the Confucian Concept of Jen and the Dangers of Self-Righteousness

“Trust in human nature is acceptance of the good-and-bad of it, and it is hard to trust those who do not admit their own weakness.”

read article

View Full Site

The Marginalian participates in the Bookshop.org and Amazon.com affiliate programs, designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to books. In more human terms, this means that whenever you buy a book from a link here, I receive a small percentage of its price, which goes straight back into my own colossal biblioexpenses. Privacy policy. (TLDR: You're safe — there are no nefarious "third parties" lurking on my watch or shedding crumbs of the "cookies" the rest of the internet uses.)