Nuannaarpoq Awards – Nominee 003
Our third nominee for a Nuannaarpoq Award is: Mary Delany (1700-1788) Parameters:Â 18th century, British, real, human, female, now living elsewhere Nuannaarpoq qualities: authenticity, enchantment, imagination, innocence, kindness, resilience References:Â Molly...
The most radiant conditions
This lovely phrase, in a collection of essays by the poet Seamus Heaney, struck me as being in large part what the world is aiming for when it talks about sustainability, sustainable development goals and related rather dry terms. It is combined with an interesting...
The long sense of possibility
Insights into creativity and innovation in the song of the nightingale – I particularly like how he draws on what he already knows, as we can draw on our past, both personal and collective, to forge the new. And ‘gurgle-beauty’, what a lovely...
Ah yes, so it does
A simple injunction, but timely, always. Be patient. It takes time for ideas to become clear. Source: Adam Nicolson, Sissinghurst: An unfinished history (London: Harper Press, 2009), p. 120Photo credit: Quadronet_Webdesign at...
Beauty is not based on consensus
A thoughtful comment on the nature of beauty. I like the idea that it is a denial of the average and is only possible with exceptionalism. I don’t know if this is true, but it resonates with me. And the innate sense of its own worth, without the need for...
Aristocrats of the spirit
Are you one? If not, why not? An aristocrat of the spirit doesn’t need palatial dwellings or magniloquent titles, just a spirit imbued with creativity and its impulses.  This noble characterisation is Durrell’s way of paying tribute to an Austrian...
On working alone
Adam Nicolson’s description of working alone resonated with me, as I have also nearly always done so, and it is my preferred mode, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the time I worked in close connection with colleagues. Â This doesn’t mean I doubt the...
In praise of the individual mind
A fascinating comment by a very individual mind on exactly that, individuality and its creative capacity. While I believe also in the power of combined minds, and don’t agree with Steinbeck’s ‘the only creative thing our species has’, I do...
The most potent force
What if love were the prime driver of our creativity? I liked the power and simplicity of Stravinsky’s statement. And I remembered this photo taken with and of a friend who held up a book he found in a magical library we found in the Jura. ‘In order to create...Yes, sign me up!
