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Stephen Clingman
In Other Words
See here for a series of short pieces ranging from the aphoristic to the op-ed, whether on language puzzles, thought projects, the occasional poem, or cultural and semiotic soundings in general.
Three Lessons from the Odyssey, and a Note
On the BBC radio program Desert Island Discs, which has been running for some seventy years, guests are invited to choose eight pieces of music they would take with them if stranded on a desert island. The program is an opportunity for a wide-ranging interview of the guest’s background and life and the reason for their choices. The program’s own music, which introduces and closes everything is the most utterly soothing and suggestive you can imagine: you really do feel yourse
Stephen Clingman
Dec 17, 20256 min read
Sacrifice
Tyrants everywhere need sacrifice. In the usual scheme of things, it proceeds in two directions. In one direction it is towards those...
Stephen Clingman
Jan 29, 20253 min read
Return of the Muskovite
Sometimes it’s only language that works in your favor, and so I present to you Lone Skum and the Muskovite, as bad a duo as the world has...
Stephen Clingman
Jan 29, 20253 min read
The Promised Land
The Conclusion to my 2009 book, The Grammar of Identity, was titled "The Nature of the Boundary", and it ended with a brief meditation on...
Stephen Clingman
Apr 6, 20232 min read
Charcoal Philosophy
Recently I gave a talk at my university on William Kentridge, the renowned South African artist. Some time ago, I had been commissioned...
Stephen Clingman
Mar 5, 20234 min read
Minority Rule
We arrived in the USA in January 1989 as the result of a series of accidents and choices. Had things worked out differently, I would have...
Stephen Clingman
Jul 20, 20222 min read
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