I think you niggas should read some Calvino

I think you niggas should read some Calvino

I think you niggas should read some Bruno Argento.

One of my new favorite authors. I've torn through most of his stuff in the last two weeks. Madman of a Platonist. 'Magician' is my favorite word I've heard applied to him.

could it be??
eggman?

Reading the crow comes last right now, pretty good

I tried reading Invisible Cities but I didn’t get into it and dropped it. Am I a brainlet or do I have to be in a certain state of mind to enjoy it?

You have to understand Plato's concept of city as soul, imo. That is why I don't understand why it has widespread appeal. It makes zero sense apart from esoteric platonic thought. The real brainless are the people that said that they understood/loved it when they didn't know what it was about

he's a bit silly, really.

Still, If on a winter's night is a clever read.

>You have to understand Plato's concept of city as soul
That's not the only way to read it.

Also can you point out to some critical source that interprets the book through this lense (Plato's idea)? Or did you just assume this was the correct interpretation on your own? Because I read a bunch of essays on the topic and none of them mentioned it.

Elaborate

From a letter by Calvino himself about interpretation of invisible cities (while it doesn't speak to the entire platonic influence it does hint at further platonic influence that had not been appreciated: 'Above all this looms the extraordinary image of the universal future, stretching out in its entirety, where sense is lost, so that knowledge too becomes memory. And look, this is already a Platonic motif and is linked to the Platonism you mention shortly afterwards. You are the first critic to point out this Platonic component in my work, which seems to me to be central. And you rightly move on to explain, in a move that resonates with those in the book, how the subject matter of dreams is real.'

Eh, there's a bunch of different interpretations really. Cities as memories. Memories as cities. Cities as progressive states of consciousness each of a different point in life of the narrator. Pasolini even called it a "fundamentally Marxist" book. It's been a while since I've read on this topic.

I mean, read above quotation from the man himself in which he says Platonism is central: the city as the soul and memory as a primary aspect of experiencing the soul, but it goes far beyond that. All of the astrological points play a major role in the platonic understanding and so much else. I came at the book as a Plato scholar, not a reader of literature, and it was incredible to me how much he understood. (I honestly haven't cracked the surface here, every sentence plays on Platonism). Scholarship is backwards relative to the artist

Dang, how the fuck did I miss this? Now I need to reread it. Anyway, I think Calvino's popularity is simply due to his brilliant writing. It makes you feel feefees even if you don't know what the fuck is going on.

To be completely honest with you I haven't read much Plato. Do you know who's the critic he sent that letter to?

Pier paolo Pasolini

Invisible cities and mr. Palomar are essentially the unwritten teachings of Plato. They can bring you up high if you know what they are talking about. Most people like Plato because he is good with words as well, but then they realize what he means and, whoah

Wot. I've read Pasolini's essay and I don't remember any mention of platonism. Jesus Christ I'm getting old.

Some people keep their platonic interests secret for some reason

>you can't possibly grasp city as soul without having read this one thinker who came up with it before others
wow