“I’m thinking about a quote I’ve seen attributed to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: ‘If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.’ I find that new waves are constantly rolling into shore, carrying testimonies from far places, and letting them rush over me as they arrive is what I find truly inspiring. Among the great and bracing waves I’ve greeted recently—to name one each from the worlds of literature, music, and film—are Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle (short stories), the double EP Rivers by Wildbirds & Peacedrums, and the movie The Eclipse, directed by Conor McPherson.”
—Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Illumination (Pantheon Books, 2011)