Edition VI _ a love letter to spring
When the new year truly begins. Thoughts on the equinox, fire and the birth of Venus
Note: this edition is too long for the email version of the newsletter, for the full experience open it in the app or online
After a severe case of SAD, blossoming trees are bringing me back from the dead, the fog of my brain, lifted with a sunny day. I should hibernate between Christmas and March. Like Persephone returning from the underworld, the real new year is the one that starts at the equinox.
Nowruz, the start of a new day, the Persian new year. A symbol of rebirth and new beginnings, it makes so much more sense to jump into the new year when nature’s cycle starts again.
Waking up with the sun, soaking every second of it, refills my energy. From now on the rain feeds the greenery, mud becomes grass, sap is bringing the blood of life. I want to do everything, go everywhere, anywhere but inside the house. If trains were cheap, just a few quids, a tenner maybe, you’d never see me again.
Once the thermometer hits the double digits and the sun, in its rare apparition, blinds me, it is in my Belgian blood to be cursed with a terrace fever. Craving just one beer, just one drink outside, laughing well into the night with friends. So I called and texted, window wide open, birds chirping, emptying my glass, soaking it all in.
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The birth of Venus is one of the most famous art pieces and one of my all-time favourites. Painted by the Italian Sandro Botticelli, it depicts the goddess Venus emerging from the sea on a seashell (iconic) and being blown on the shore by the wind god, Zephyr, and what could be either Aura, the personification of a light breeze (mythology really had it all covered) or Chloris, a flower nymph. Waiting for Venus with the nicest towel (my birthday is coming btw), is Horae one of the three sister goddesses for the seasons and the passing of time. The pink colours of the cloak and the flowery dress indicate she could be the Horae of Spring, which is extremely convenient for the theme of this hunter.
I have absolutely been obsessed with this painting since we studied it in a history of art class some ten years ago. Something about the soft palette of colours, the nonchalance of Venus at the effort left and right, the movement of the front of the scene contrasting with the stillness of the landscape. It is all concentrated on Venus and nothing else.
It is a main mood for spring and I was wondering how I would recreate it if I had any talent.
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And I mean, pretty iconic. I had to pick a model sunbathing in just a fur coat for Venus, an oyster and its pearl as a vessel, whatever kind of gorgeous goth pink flower that is and a wavy ocean for the wind and sea
I have accumulated so many treasures in three months, let’s dive in.
Starting with this monstrosity of a book pile I bought earlier today (hiding in shame as you can see) but it’s spring, ok??? I browsed through the Sofia Coppola Archives while drinking my coffee and it is absolutely gorgeous. I cannot wait to lose myself in it and the obligatory rewatch of Marie Antoinette.
I am currently reading After a Dance by Bridget O’Connor, I always love a collection of short stories and even more when it is funny, she has such a distinctive voice and way of building characters. Somehow I can say the same about Demons by Dostoevsky that I’m also reading, although wildly different.1
In my recommendations from earlier this year:
She was mad at herself for caring, mad at herself for feeling like a failure. In fact, wasn’t viewing yourself as a failure the first step toward actually becoming one?
A History of Masculinity by Ivan Jablonka which I am using in my series of essays on masculinity
The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir, what a word picture of womanhood, relationships, motherhood
Boulder by Eva Baltasar, if you have to read one book out of this list this is it
New Animal by Ella Baxter, I fell in love with her writing, her female character, the theme of grief and the point of view picked
A few articles to read this spring, I am keeping it light this time.
On Vox, Who gets to flourish? On the paths — and barriers — to a flourishing life.
- from My Persian Corner wrote this article on Nowruz last year.
I need to find myself a book club, anyone wants to join?
I like this point of view on Poor Things by
from Men Yell at Me![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80b66a69-68d3-482c-ae99-e574476fff80_474x316.jpeg)
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The sun is now setting, dyeing the clouds in a light pink. Time to wrap it up, time for some more bites.
on third place and how it links to the loneliness crisis (I watched it twice, it is THAT good)I am abso-fucking-lutely delighted Giggly Squad is releasing the full episode in video, I have never laughed in public so much. I look like an idiot every Tuesday.
I never thought I would relate to Megan Fox but here we are, such a good interview with Alex Cooper. 2 I have also been enjoying the Polyester Podcast and their theories on culture and feminism, they always have interesting takes on their topics.
I am reading Doestovsky and de Beauvoir in French and not the English editions linked.
Link for the episode somewhere in the newsletter. It is not moving and for some reason, I can’t delete it either. I hate technology so much.