What We Are Reading Today: ‘Secrets of The Heart’

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Updated 06 June 2023
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Secrets of The Heart’

  • The first section explores the many different forms of love including the romantic, platonic and familial. Gibran writes about the joys and pains of love and the importance of giving and receiving it in our lives

“Secrets of the Heart” is a book by author and poet Kahlil Gibran, first published in 1947, after his death.

The collection of his writing on love and friendship is divided into several sections, each focusing on different aspects of the human heart.

The book is written through the eyes of a woman whose father made her marry a wealthy nobleman. The unnamed woman begins to write a letter to her beloved sister, pouring her heart out that while her husband cherishes her, she believes he is not meant for her love.

The first section explores the many different forms of love including the romantic, platonic and familial. Gibran writes about the joys and pains of love and the importance of giving and receiving it in our lives.

The second section delves into the nature of true friendship and the qualities that make a good companion. The author emphasizes the importance of honesty, loyalty and understanding in building strong friendships.

The third section consists of meditations on the human heart and its mysteries. Gibran reflects on what lies within the heart, its connection to the soul, and its role in our emotional and spiritual lives.

Throughout the book, Gibran’s writing is poetic and philosophical.

He uses metaphors to explore the complex and often contradictory nature of the human experience, shedding light on how the woman sees herself as a “martyr in this belittling world.”

“Secrets of the Heart” is one of many essays Gibran wrote using both prose and poetry.

While Gibran did not belong to any literary movement, his works reflect elements of symbolism from the Romantic and New Thought movements. He is revered as the voice of the East, which found its way into the hearts of Western readers.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bartleby and Me’

Updated 16 May 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bartleby and Me’

Writers love to write about writing and none seemingly more so than Gay Talese, the journalist known as a pioneer of the American literary moment called “New Journalism.” This style of writing originated in the 1960s and ‘70s and combines journalistic research with creative non-fiction.

Talese started his career as an obituary writer at the New York Times and, later, as a magazine writer who ended up reluctantly penning the most widely read magazine articles of all time. He showcases some of that editorial wisdom — and reporting mishaps — in his 2023 book, “Bartley and Me: Reflections of an Old Scrivener.”

Now 92 years old, he writes vividly about his early reporting days and the stories behind the stories; he masterfully weaves in stray strands that somehow come together into a coherent narrative. Talese writes crisp copy. He writes about nobodies and somebodies with equal fervor.

He recalls his time as a young reporter on assignment where, at the insistence of his persistent editor, he attempted to sit down for an interview with the elusive and super-famous star Frank Sinatra. Talese recounts how he repeatedly tried — and failed — to pin down “Ol’ Blue Eyes” while chasing him around California in the 1960s. He eventually published his distinctively titled profile, “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” in the April 1966 issue of Esquire. That piece of writing is considered one of the most celebrated pieces of magazine journalism to date.

Talese’s tales are mostly centered around his time in New York. He recalls things in meticulous detail — for example, pointing out the exact address and precise building within a neighborhood to help the reader visualize the space. The city is always a leading part of the story.

“New York is a city of things unnoticed,” he wrote 60 years ago, something that could easily be written today. He recalls the early days of his journalistic career in New York, churning out newspaper copy and still, now, being ever-so-curious about everything. The pages of this book show that we all, alongside him, still have much more to notice.

The title of the book was inspired by American author Herman Melville’s short story, “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street,” published in the 1800s. This is a social criticism piece about a lawyer who hires a peculiar scrivener or clerk, Bartleby, and the adventures (or misadventures) that ensue.

In his version, Talese shares with us a fresh piece of original reporting titled “Dr. Bartha’s Brownstone,” which is his version of “Bartleby.” This time, however, Bartleby is an unknown doctor who makes his bombastic mark on the city one random summer day. It is a brilliant piece of journalism about journalism.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Proof Stage’ by Stephen Abbott

Updated 16 May 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Proof Stage’ by Stephen Abbott

The discovery of alternate geometries, paradoxes of the infinite, incompleteness, and chaos theory revealed that, despite its reputation for certainty, mathematical truth is not immutable, perfect, or even perfectible. 
Beginning in the last century, a handful of adventurous playwrights took inspiration from the fractures of modern mathematics to expand their own artistic boundaries.
 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Royal Inca Tunic’ by Andrew James Hamilton

Updated 14 May 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Royal Inca Tunic’ by Andrew James Hamilton

The most celebrated Andean artwork in the world is a 500-year-old Inca tunic made famous through theories about the meanings of its intricate designs, including attempts to read them as a long-lost writing system.

But very little is really known about it. “The Royal Inca Tunic” reconstructs the history of this enigmatic object, presenting significant new findings about its manufacture and symbolism in Inca visual culture.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Evolution of Power’ by Geerat Vermeij

Updated 13 May 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Evolution of Power’ by Geerat Vermeij

Power has many dimensions, from individual attributes such as strength and speed to the collective advantages of groups.

“The Evolution of Power” takes readers on a breathtaking journey across history and the natural world, revealing how the concept of power unifies a vast range of phenomena in the evolution of life—and how natural selection has placed humanity and the planet itself on a trajectory of ever-increasing power.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Semi-Detached’

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Updated 12 May 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Semi-Detached’

Author: JOHN PLOTZ

When you are half lost in a work of art, what happens to the half left behind? “Semi-Detached” delves into this state of being: what it means to be within and without our social and physical milieu, at once interacting and drifting away, and how it affects our ideas about aesthetics.

The allure of many modern aesthetic experiences, this book argues, is that artworks trigger and provide ways to make sense of this oscillating, in-between place.