Listening

Mar 13, 2004

Alistair Cooke recorded his final Letter from America last week. Last night, I left my office at 1:30 a.m. after writing my thesis article for hours and hours, and I as pulled into the parking space below our apartment, the BBC played one of Cooke’s letters from 1968, a fascinating essay about the breaking point at which Americans began to tire of the war in Vietnam. Of course, it had parallels to our current war. I sat in the cold with moonlight that reminded me of the nights on Paama Island that I listened on shortwave to Cooke tell me about my homeland (read my post from 2001 with my reminiscence). NPR also featured Cooke. If you’ve never heard his letter, visit the BBC site, turn out the lights, put your feet up on your desk, close your eyes and be enthralled.

Anton Zuiker ☄