No more briar pipes

January 12, 2012 5:07 PM

Néo Fénéon: "Three thousand seven hundred dollars richer after stealing from the job, Marvin Williams, 25, of Brooklyn, went to urinate in a playground." - Items from the NYPD blotter remixed daily in the style of Félix Fénéon. (previously)
posted by mrgrimm (10 comments total)

Teju Cole does something similar.
posted by kenko at 6:01 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

Briar pipes?
posted by The Thnikkaman at 6:03 PM on January 12

Hmph. I was building a post about Little Fates / Fait Divers. First an article on Teju Cole and Little Fates from the New Inquiry Death By Twitter

Teju Cole writes that:
"Twitter is unbeatable for aphorism, great for anecdote, decent for poetry, useless for analysis, and the eye of a newt for surrealism." http://twitter.com/tejucole/status/138911322720055297

Yet "My conundrum is how to convey the awful difficulty of life here, and yet also convey that this same life is truly normal, truly ordinary." http://twitter.com/tejucole/status/138911322720055297

"Each death is described in detail. It's like the small fates meeting the dark classical past (rich in ironies but not funny)." http://twitter.com/tejucole/status/145213604046708736


Examples I collated of Teju Cole’s; Little Fates on Adultery and Sex and on Death

and here is @phillygirl little fates on Philadelphia
posted by stratastar at 6:42 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

Fénéon is the subject of two of my favorite portraits: [1] [2].
posted by lex mercatoria at 7:00 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

Yes! Love Cole's and Phillygirl's are great too. Also enjoyed Julian Barnes' review of Fénéon.
posted by latkes at 7:59 PM on January 12

The Thnikkaman: Briar pipes?

Like so, for instance. Nearly all tobacco pipes are made from briar root.
posted by gilrain at 8:30 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

I love Fenion, but to be honest, Neo Fenion ain't that good...

Compare:

No more briar pipes. Their makers, in Saint-Claude, have stopped work until they are paid better.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:48 PM on January 12

That S.E. Thile pipe website is fantastic, gilrain. I don't smoke a pipe -- or smoke at all, now -- but I love to read about serious craftsmen and artisans. I almost wanted to start smoking again, just so I could own one of those pipes.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:33 AM on January 13

PeterMcDermott: That S.E. Thile pipe website is fantastic, gilrain.

Oh, thanks! That's actually my dad. I'm really proud of his work.
posted by gilrain at 7:53 AM on January 13 [1 favorite]

I actually know what a briar pipe is. mrgrimm answered my question though.
posted by The Thnikkaman at 7:51 PM on January 13