In one of his songs, Leonard Cohen finds himself in an otherworldly place he calls the Tower of Song. The building is lonely, with a few tenants who occupy it. He finds Hank Williams in there, a permanent resident of the tower, but even he lives several floors up, possibly in a penthouse. In contrast, Leonard only rents a space–but at least he had arrived. That is all that mattered. Leonard goes on to admit, rather cheekily, that he was indeed born with his amazing voice; his music inspired by angelic muses from the plane beyond. He truly states his case brazenly for those who might deem him unworthy of a place in the tower.
I take the tower to embody the art, spirit and craft of music. This song came out when Leonard was 54. Clearly at his peak, he makes a claim of having earned his place among the legends by referencing Hank Williams: An icon who he professed great admiration for. And as far as I am concerned, he absolutely has. The man possessed a formidable literary prowess, and he oozed quality and depth in his songs.
One day, I hope to be able to stake my claim like Leonard did. Today, however, is when I officially (and publicly) start my journey as a writer. And for this day only, I am just another starry-eyed, naive person who wants to make a difference in this big world. I am but a speck of dust on the beach—small and insignificant. But It is my dream that, one day, I would be considered to be in the ballpark of hugely impactful writers—and have my readers feel like they are in the presence of one inspired by celestial beings.
Let me tell you a little about me: I am broody. I like to think deeply about most things I care about. I am enamoured by technical things. This claim is purposely ambiguous. If you were looking for a catchphrase that describes me, it would be that “I live to learn and learn to live”. Currently, I have interests in mathematics, technology, religion, education, poetry, philosophy and fiction. So I will be writing about these. I would be seeking to expound and provide nuanced views on topics of interest from these areas. I want to share my sadness, fear and excitement with you.
Impact is retrospective and subjective. All I can hope for is to be able to look back and be content with my work. The effect it will have on others and the scale of that effect isn’t for me to decide. I want to share my mind with the world. So I stare longingly at the Hall of Writ from distance; I prostrate to the gods that keep the sacred tool of literary expression to bless me with their gifts. Finally, I hope you will enjoy your time here.