ABOUT

Balckwell: A Condensed Autiobiography
or,

A Crystal Clear Report to the General Public Concerning the Actual Essence of My Life: An Attempt to Force the Reader to Understand

Some years ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.

In truth, all great stories begin in precisely this way, and mine is no different. The actual amount of money in my purse notwithstanding, it was a damp, drizzly November in my soul when I fled the world of sense and embarked on a flight to Japan. What I learned there, we may never know. Several months later, I returned, seemingly unchanged. However, historians now agree that this trip, for all its tribulations, proved the point of reversal for my young life, as it ended the consistently downward trajectory that had turned me into such a miserable wretch, and began the upward trajectory that led me to exclaim at one time (and many times thereafter):

BALCKWELL RISING!!

From half a basement to a full basement; from a full basement to the ground floor; from the ground floor to soaring above the living skies; the story of Balckwell is one of upward momentum. But we are not talking merely of material possessions. In that half-basement, I was the prisoner in the cave watching shadows dance on the wall. In the full basement, I was the puppet-man creating the shadows. On the ground floor, I yelled in agony as I was dragged into the light of sun. Now, I bathe in the pure light of the Good.

How did I achieve this? The same way anyone achieves anything: by reading books.

Thus, I share my knowledge with you the only way I know how: by writing about my life. In writing about my life I am also, in sometimes a direct but more often an indirect fashion, writing about books. Through this, I hope to provide for others the support, comfort, and reassurance that such authors as Melville, Proust, Coleridge, Tolstoy, Natsume, Kant, Cao Xueqin, Borges, Yoshimoto, Mann, Hesse, Eco, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Milton, Lao Tze, Zhuangzi, and Plato have provided me, on purpose or by accident, through their writings. If I can do this, I will consider this all a great success.

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE INCLUDE:

• Many, many essays I have written over the past several years, once described (by me) as “an eclectic combination of literary criticism, personal writing, and philosophical investigations.”
• Several works of fiction, including my novel Only In Dreams (available for free or for purchase, although I’d recommend getting it for free.)
• Long-form literary criticism of such works as Dream of the Red Chamber and Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.

CONTACT:

Emails[at]balckwell.online