Piranesi, Borges, and the Labyrinths of Time

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24 points·anarbadalov··8 comments

it's remarkable to me that one can write an entire essay about Piranesi without even mentioning Susanna Clarke's great novel PIRANESI, a pretty significant instance of his cultural influence!

One of my favourite books!

Never heard of Susanna Clarke or her novel. My first thought at hearing the name Piranesi is Brian Ferneyhough's Carceri d'invenzione cycle of works. Just goes to show that Piranesi, like other artists, inspired quite a lot of people and one can't expect a journalist to mention one's favourites among them when he/she is interested in the artist himself.

It was a recent and popular work of fiction, by a well known author. If you like anything related, I’d encourage you to check it out.

She has another book Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which is fantastic. It’s a long one but I enjoyed it all the way

...Clarke's novel is the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth Google result, _and_ the sidebar, when one (incognito-)searches "Piranesi".

I hadn't heard of it until this evening! Ordered a copy immediately after reading this wonderful profile of Susanne Clarke: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/14/susanna-clarke...

Yes, a great profile.

I recognised many patterns described by Rick Rubin in his book The Creative Act: A Way Of Being. There are Seeds, often lying dormant, Experimentation, selective exposure to others, change of context, and even the precise Impro prompt "Yes, and..."

I highly recommend TCA, and not just for artists. The clue is in the subtitle. Change his term "the work" to become "your life" and you have a good recipe for a rich mindful journey through the world.

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