R.I.P. Ryszard Kapuscinski and L.M. Boyd
Two of my favorite journalists/reporters of all time died within a few
days of each other this past week. One, Ryszard Kapuscinski, was
monumental and significant, and the other, L.M.Boyd, was, by the nature
of his material, rather trivial.
Ryszard, a Pole, passed away in mid-stride at 74 from a heart attack
in Warsaw Poland. In 1957 he became the African correspondent for
the Polish News Service PAP, eventually becoming that service's only
foreign correspondent. His dispatches eventually became whole books
on such subjects as diverse as the fall of Emperor Haile Sellasie of Ethiopia,
the Angolan Civil War, the Shah of Iran and the end of Communism in
Eastern Europe. As his writings were often for a controlled audience, his
style was often neutral but it gave the reader plenty of opportunities to read
between the lines and notice that he was really writing about the situation
in his home country Poland in the years before 1989. His books are available
in English and his shorter stories can be found in the London journal Granta.
A master story teller, he'll be missed, although I understand one more work
at the publishers and coming out next year.
The other writer, L.M.Boyd, who passed away at age 79 in Seattle, did a little
trivia column that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle under the title 'Grab Bag.' There was a whimsical character to this list of 20-30 factoids, little nuggets
of information like the following:
" 'Fathom what's fathomable, and revere the rest.' That's not exactly what Goethe said. But pretty close. ... Larvae of all true wasps are flesh eaters. ... Giraffes, too, get kidney stones ..."
"Nose length of the female flight attendant averages 2.18 inches. The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that, but I don't know why."
"Q. What's the largest cell in the human body? A. The female egg cell. Smallest, the male sperm cell."
In his last Grab Bag column, Mr. Boyd informed his readers that the term "so long" came "from British soldiers. Who got it from the Malays, who say 'salong.' Who borrowed it from the Middle Easterners, who say 'salaam.' "
Anyway it was required reading on a Sunday after you had digested the Chron
and it usually contained the only information you might keep with you for the rest of
your life, rendering all that other news in the paper, well, trivial
days of each other this past week. One, Ryszard Kapuscinski, was
monumental and significant, and the other, L.M.Boyd, was, by the nature
of his material, rather trivial.
Ryszard, a Pole, passed away in mid-stride at 74 from a heart attack
in Warsaw Poland. In 1957 he became the African correspondent for
the Polish News Service PAP, eventually becoming that service's only
foreign correspondent. His dispatches eventually became whole books
on such subjects as diverse as the fall of Emperor Haile Sellasie of Ethiopia,
the Angolan Civil War, the Shah of Iran and the end of Communism in
Eastern Europe. As his writings were often for a controlled audience, his
style was often neutral but it gave the reader plenty of opportunities to read
between the lines and notice that he was really writing about the situation
in his home country Poland in the years before 1989. His books are available
in English and his shorter stories can be found in the London journal Granta.
A master story teller, he'll be missed, although I understand one more work
at the publishers and coming out next year.
The other writer, L.M.Boyd, who passed away at age 79 in Seattle, did a little
trivia column that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle under the title 'Grab Bag.' There was a whimsical character to this list of 20-30 factoids, little nuggets
of information like the following:
" 'Fathom what's fathomable, and revere the rest.' That's not exactly what Goethe said. But pretty close. ... Larvae of all true wasps are flesh eaters. ... Giraffes, too, get kidney stones ..."
"Nose length of the female flight attendant averages 2.18 inches. The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that, but I don't know why."
"Q. What's the largest cell in the human body? A. The female egg cell. Smallest, the male sperm cell."
In his last Grab Bag column, Mr. Boyd informed his readers that the term "so long" came "from British soldiers. Who got it from the Malays, who say 'salong.' Who borrowed it from the Middle Easterners, who say 'salaam.' "
Anyway it was required reading on a Sunday after you had digested the Chron
and it usually contained the only information you might keep with you for the rest of
your life, rendering all that other news in the paper, well, trivial
posted by Shining Path of Least Resistance at 11:10 PM
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