Tell me what is on your desk at the moment?
1. Typewriter
2. Discarded pages from novel I am writing
3. First 60 pp of that novel
4. Bose ear stops
5. Pens and pencils
6. Webster’s New World Dictionary
7. Larousse.
If you had a mantra that you could have the whole world repeat every day, a simple phrase to help us all have some hope for the future, what would it be?
A: Nul n'est besoin d'esperer pour entreprendre; that was William of Orange's mantra. (16th century Holland). (*You don’t need to hope in order to do)
I'd like to thank Hans Koning for the sit-down and for his usual frankness and generosity of time. Listed below are just a few of Koning's books. To find out more, you can Google Koning, or check out his work on Amazon or begin with any of his books - they're all good. Other work can be found in The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly and many other publications.
Article comments
1 - Aaman
Very interesting interview, Sadi - one will commence reading the ouevre of this excellent writer that one seems to have missed out on.
I always thought that William of Orange used the motto je maintiendrai - will need to research a bit
2 - sadi
thanks, and do let me know about the quote, i'd be curious.
as for hans, his work is wonderful. i love his little book of comforts and gripes for a quick read, but his novels are terrific as is his nonfiction too. you can Google his name and find a great deal of work but i highly recommend reading his novels - all are different and have something to offer. by no means "easy" books, but then the best never are. Hans is the real deal - and always cool.
thanks for reading... and let me know if you do read his work.
stay well,
sadi
3 - drew
check out
http://hanskoning.net