decalogue: why I keep coming to Iceland. 7: the artisanal ideal

A page of the oldest surviving copy (15th century) of the Old Covenant, which set up the legal bond of Icelanders to Norway as subjects to its King, displayed at the National Museum of Iceland, in Reykjavík

7) the artisanal ideal

In parallel to all the previously accounted developments (my drifting apart from Buddhism and embracing Edward Said’s secular stance, all of which amounted to a move back to being honest to my European cultural background, very much in line with what the other influential figure of this stage of my life, Stephen Batchelor, had himself done before), in my job, situated in the field of translation, with the years I had developed my own point of view, regarding translation (and textual, language related work in general) as an artisan profession, which, in turn, rendered me more and more interested in the world of craftshumanship and, consequently, the ideals connected to it.

Plated wood on a temple’s door a the Summer Palace, Beijing, China

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