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Robin Saikia

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Venice awakes (20618763815).jpg
I think if one can successfully invite people to make a comparison between the cliffs/reefs, and the organic development of the Gothic city, then one has done a reasonably good job.
Maler der Grabkammer des Menna 003.jpg
A fish flew out of the Adriatic and went hurtling over our heads. It was startlingly romantic. I can still see it: the streak of gold and silver; the glistening, feral texture of the scales; the fish’s eye like a jewel.
Theo van Doesburg Composition VII (the three graces).jpg
Every time I look at a work of art, however good or bad, I always begin with the principle of "graceful acceptance." You always get so much more that way.

Robin Saikia (born in 1962) is a British travel writer and historian.

Quotes

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  • (Said in the context of semi-abstract art) Every time I look at a work of art, however good or bad, I always begin with the principle of "graceful acceptance." You always get so much more that way.
  • (In referring to Venice) It took a Frenchman and a Russian to give us clearer verbal snapshots of what the city-as-organism really is: Proust, “a chain of marble cliffs…”; Brodsky, “innumerable strands of coral reefs…” I think if one can successfully invite people to make a comparison between the cliffs/reefs, and the organic development of the Gothic city, then one has done a reasonably good job.
  • (In reply to his most magical experience in Venice) ...a fish flew out of the Adriatic and went hurtling over our heads. It was startlingly romantic. I can still see it: the streak of gold and silver; the glistening, feral texture of the scales; the fish’s eye like a jewel; the mad, mock-Byzantine riot of the Excelsior’s turrets and minarets against the azure sky; beyond that, in the mind’s eye, the dark labyrinths of San Marco – and, beyond them, the Euganian Hills.

A Very Fine Cat Indeed: A Dramatic Monologue (2020)

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  • (Referring to Hodge the cat) His rumbles of content, and warm black fur, thawed the frost of my soul, and dispelled the torpor of despondency.
    • p. 7
  • (In referring to simple pleasures) These are arts that those who ridicule should not so readily despise, since they lighten melancholy and foster friendship.
    • p. 17
  • Every man that has felt pain, knows how few the comforts are that can gladden him to whom health is denied. I fed Hodge valerian to ease his agonies. I bought oysters for his delight, these being soft, and the best meat for his toothless jaws. I went for them myself.
    • p. 25
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