Yesterday evening at 18:15 I was expected at Joe’s Pub for the event “Dirty Wars” – part of the PEN Festival.
I had anticipated that it would be problematic getting a taxi around 17:45, so I left around 17:25, reckoning that I would take me 20 minutes to find a cab.
Things never go as expected. I found a cab immediately and I arrived at Joe’s Pub at 17:42.
Too early is as bad as being too late. I decided to walk around for a bit and while doing this I realized that it has been a long time since I have walked around New York for no other reason than the walking itself.
The event Dirty Wars was not al all bad. (Most literary events are disappointing, especially when you are one the participants.) I liked the poem Breyten Breytenbach read.
I read one of my articles I wrote about my trip to Gitmo.
Nadine Gordimer whispered good-bye to me in Dutch. It was not because of that, that I found her quite attractive.