I am packing to begin my fellowship in Ljubljana, to take up the role of researcher and writer and try to put a dent in the project, finally, of turning my dissertation into a book. It has hung over me for years. Will our intrepid traveler best his foe? Will adventure draw him into the distractions of ever more interesting parlors?
I’ve never been to Ljubljana, but everyone who has utters its name with a reverent drawing of breath. One friend described it as a singular place whose location at the confluence of the Alps and the Mediterranean gives it an atmosphere whose fragrances are narcotic. I am reminded of Henry Miller’s Black Spring, the quote in the letter from a friend that also serves as a the title of one of the chapters, something like, “Now works the calmness of Scheveningen as an anaesthetic.” A dream place to look forward to. The Bosnian punk rocker Damir Avdić lives there, so all is not entirely somnolent. His new album, Sve je u redu, was just released in April.