What We Are Reading Today: ‘Sand and Foam’

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Updated 27 June 2023
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Sand and Foam’

  • Gibran’s lyrical prose and poetry capture the timeless rhythm of the universe and the heartbeat of the human soul

Kahlil Gibran’s book “Sand and Foam” is a compilation of poems and aphorisms published in 1926.

The book explores a range of themes, including love, life, death and spirituality, and is replete with enigmatic and thought-provoking statements.

Gibran contemplates the nature of humanity and our place in the universe, emphasizing love as the key to freedom and the elevation of the spirit. He also touches on the idea that while we are all prisoners in some way, some of us have windows from which to see out, while others do not.

One of the most memorable quotes in the book is “Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.”

Gibran’s lyrical prose and poetry capture the timeless rhythm of the universe and the heartbeat of the human soul.

Written in a style that is both lyrical and meditative, the book is filled with vivid imagery and metaphors that encourage the reader to ponder the enigmatic aspects of life.

Another notable aspect of “Sand and Foam” is its focus on universal themes and ideas that are relevant across cultures and time periods. Gibran draws on his experiences growing up in Lebanon and emigrating to the US, but his writing is not limited to any specific culture or tradition.

Instead, he explores the human experience in a way that speaks to readers from all backgrounds.

“Perhaps the sea’s definition of a shell is the pearl. Perhaps time’s definition of coal is the diamond,” he writes.

 

 


What We Are Reading Today: Shame: The Politics and Power of an Emotion

Updated 23 December 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Shame: The Politics and Power of an Emotion

Author: David Keen

Today, we are caught in a shame spiral—a vortex of mutual shaming that pervades everything from politics to social media. We are shamed for our looks, our culture, our ethnicity, our sexuality, our poverty, our wrongdoings, our politics. But what is the point of all this shaming and countershaming? Does it work? And if so, for whom?

In Shame, David Keen explores the function of modern shaming, paying particular attention to how shame is instrumentalized and weaponized. Keen points out that there is usually someone who offers an escape from shame—and that many of those who make this offer have been piling on shame in the first place. Self-interested manipulations of shame, Keen argues, are central to understanding phenomena as wide-ranging as consumerism, violent crime, populist politics, and even war and genocide. Shame is political as well as personal. To break out of our current cycle of shame and shaming, and to understand the harm that shame can do, we must recognize the ways that shame is being made to serve political and economic purposes.

Keen also traces the rise of leaders on both sides of the Atlantic who possess a dangerous shamelessness, and he asks how shame and shamelessness can both be damaging.