“If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite” The Marriage between Heaven and Hell, William Blake, 1793 In 1792, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge came out with their Lyrical Ballads. To many, this particular moment in time marks the beginning of Romanticism, a movement which opposedContinue reading “Sex, Drugs & Romanticism”
Author Archives: Dorus Asselbergs
Dorus volgde eerst een bachelor Engelse Taal en Cultuur en is nu bezig met zijn master Literary Studies. Hij houdt van schrijven en lezen, gaat ieder jaar een paar weken solo op reis en is momenteel aan het trainen voor zijn eerste marathon.
Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?
“Reality is just a crutch for people who can’t handle drugs.” Robin Williams Drugs, or drug culture, are often associated with tie-died t-shirts, the south Americas, the 70’s, rock and punk music, and ultimately, Snoop Dogg. Yet, in between those stereotypical manifestations of the junkie lifestyle, there are deeper, subtler, more complex – that isContinue reading “Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?”
Ode To Iggy Pop
Although it might seem like yesterday to some of the older generations, the year 1969 is already half a century ago. These historic 365 days gave room to Woodstock, saw the election of president Nixon, and were filled to the brim with events relating to the Vietnam war. All of this might make one thinkContinue reading “Ode To Iggy Pop”
No Difference, No Direction
In January I wrote an article that connected the increased use of Spotify and Netflix with the lack of direction millennials are famous for having. Yet, it´s not only billion dollar companies and streaming services that are to blame. Jacques Derrida is known worldwide, within both philosophy and literary theory, for his notion of Différance:Continue reading “No Difference, No Direction”
Losing the ‘we’ in TV
“The truth is in the whole” might be some of Hegel’s most cited words, and although this phrase has inspired lots of philosophy, art and theory that followed, it seems like current younger generations, particularly known as millennials, didn’t quite get the memo. Apart from infamously taking pictures of nicely arranged dishes until they goContinue reading “Losing the ‘we’ in TV”
Memes of Consciousness
Although some say that Mark Zuckerberg,, with his lizard-like features and robotically generated emotions, might not have a consciousness at all, his social-media-giant Facebook simulates that very thing perfectly. The same goes for Instagram, which was bought by Facebook in 2012. By having riverlike feeds from picture to picture, post to post, and therefore from subjectContinue reading “Memes of Consciousness”
From Swinging Swords To Giving Signatures
As if he has returned from a years-long quest, the medieval knight seems to be back. Yet he is no longer wearing a heavy armor set, carrying a throat-slitting sword, nor arriving on some biologically perfect stallion: he has humbly traded his signature gear for a Thrasher sweater, a pair of artificially ripped jeans andContinue reading “From Swinging Swords To Giving Signatures”
Short Story Competition 2018 – First Place: Through but Behind Hedges, by Dorus Asselbergs
They fell in love in the vineyard, In between empty barrels and hanging sweets. I should have acted, But I can just remember. – Comfortably leaning back, he sat in a white plastic chair, with his feet resting in front of him on an equally white and plastic table, off which the sunlight glitteringly reflected.Continue reading “Short Story Competition 2018 – First Place: Through but Behind Hedges, by Dorus Asselbergs”
Writer's Block Magazine 