Re-view
Last week marked two years of this Substack, so it seemed like a good moment for a brief update and review of the project. The original aim was for it to be a ‘thought sketchbook’, and that is roughly how it has developed. The style has perhaps become more essayistic and fragmentary, which might be a reaction to the conditions we find ourselves in. Over the last few years we have witnessed a near continuous procession of failed predictions and incorrect models. To which we respond with more definitive statements, ones that will most likely be wrecked on the rocks of reality. And so, part of what I am trying to do with these notes is to think in an open and incomplete way, to allow the reader to develop thoughts and ideas from the prompts being offered.
The most positive aspect of working on this has been growing an audience, which is now above 4,000 subscribers. Thank you for attention. Given the infinite media space we find ourselves in, in which algorithms and power laws dominate what we engage with, it can be a challenge to be found. Many readers have chanced upon this through Substack’s recommendation function, and I am very grateful to those who have supported what I am doing. Any help with sharing and recommending these notes is greatly appreciated. Some people have kindly offered to pledge support, and so I’ve turned this function on, but my plans are to keep all notes open and freely available.
I am currently working on a book manuscript, with the provisional title of The Empire of Twilight, which develops and extends the themes I have been exploring here. If any literary agents or publishers might be interested in the project, please feel free to get in touch: info.hobson@gmail.com. Likewise, I can be reached on this email for any other proposals or possibilities. More information is available on my homepage.
Given this is a note about the practice of writing and reading, it seems appropriate to finish with some ideas from a 1930 essay by Herman Hesse, ‘The Magic of the Book’, in which he judged that, ‘without the word, without the writing of books, there is no history, there is no concept of humanity.’ Considering the rise of new forms of media, Hesse determined that:
…the more that certain needs for entertainment and education are satisfied through other inventions, the more the book will win back in dignity and authority. For even the most childish intoxication with progress will soon be forced to recognise that writing and books have a function that is eternal. It will become evident that formulation in words and the handing on of these formulations through writing are not only important aids but actually the only means by which humanity can have a history and a continuing consciousness of itself.
A function that is eternal, a sentiment worth holding onto.