Virginia Woolf Archives

"Literature is strewn with the wreckage of those who have minded beyond reason the opinion of others," wrote Virginia Woolf in her essay on the role of women in literature, A Room of One's Own. Published in 1929 and based on two talks she gave at women's colleges at the University of Cambridge the previous… Continue reading There is No Bolt That You Can Set Upon the Freedom of My Mind – Virginia Woolf

Literature, Short Stories

The Death of the Moth and the Pure Bead of Life

May 30, 2019May 23, 2019 Vanessa Able

This evocative essay by Virginia Woolf chronicles the short life and quick death of a moth that was fluttering by her window one day as she worked. Initially mesmerized by the movements of the creature, Woolf confesses to feelings of pity for his 'zest in enjoying his meagre opportunities to the full.' But she also… Continue reading The Death of the Moth and the Pure Bead of Life

Orhan Pamuk on Writing By Hand
Orhan Pamuk's hand-writing habit hasn't budged, despite the conventions of our time.
How We Live Is How We Die: Pema Chödrön on Preparing for Death Here and Now
Pema Chödrön on what the Tibetan approach to living and dying can teach us about liberation in the present moment.
The Path that Goes Nowhere – Barbara Brown Taylor on the Practice of Labyrinth Walking
Barbara Brown Taylor reflects on her own experience of Labyrinth-walking and the significance of the path without a destination.
What Can the Earth’s Crisis Teach Us About Ourselves? David Hinton’s Tao of Ecology
David Hinton on what Taoism can teach us about Deep Ecology and how we can reconnect with our own ancient Paleolithic roots.
‘When the Lights of Health Go Down’- Virginia Woolf on Being Ill
Virginia Woolf on our relationship to illness, its potential spiritual value, and the mysterious intelligence of the body.

Ronán P. Berry – On The Mountain of Forth
"On The Mountain of Forth" is Irish poet Ronán P. Berry's anthem of the natural and wild world and what could even be considered enlightenment.
Regina Dilgen – Meditation on Thomas Merton’s Hermitage
Regina Dilgen's exquisite "Meditation on Thomas Merton's Hermitage" imagines American monastic Thomas Merton worn by grief and inspired to write.
Orhan Pamuk on Writing By Hand
Orhan Pamuk's hand-writing habit hasn't budged, despite the conventions of our time.
Mike Christie – Knock Knock Knock
A narrative of a woodpecker at work on a tree expands to the oneness of all things in Mike Christie's "Knock Knock Knock".
Quincy Gray McMichael – After Portugal
In the vivid "After Portugal", the simple act of doing a load of laundry after returning home from time abroad brings back moonlit memories