Philosopher Nietzsche must be reaching out to me on his birthday — as I received 2 gifts related to him on his special day… The first was kind note from a reader of my work, regarding an essay I published on Nietzsche, 6 years ago, in a philosophy magazine:
Hello, my name is Santiago, from Argentina. I just read a 2013 article you wrote about Nietzsche for Philosophy Now, and I just wanted to thank you for it. It felt as if you were putting my thoughts into your (much more knowledgeable) words, as it were, and confirming my enthusiasm for the subject. It made me feel accompanied.
Also, as a master of short-form writing, aka aphorisms, Nietzsche was a formative influence, for a good decade or so, when I first began writing aphorisms, as a teenager...(He meant so much to me, I named my first dog after his nickname: Fritz)
So, it was particularly significant that I was invited —to Oxford University!— to launch my own book of aphorisms, Where Epics Fail
Happy birthday, dear poet, jester, sculptor of the self, moralist, musician & yes, also mystic. 🎭
And my soul, a stringed instrument,
Sang, touched by invisible hands.
—Nietzsche, Gondola song
The Edvard Munch painting, below, is one that I return to often, for its vivid colors, vitality and quiet melancholy (basically, Nietzschean extremes in a nutshell).
Below are some of my aphorisms, or short reflections, for those who value wisdom literature:
Also, if you care to take a peek, here is a snippet from my talk at Oxford, which was, undoubtedly, one of the highlights of my literary career, so far:
