You know the saying; “When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Well, when you have an idea in your head then surprising things pop up that relate. I was interested in reading up on the musical form of Nocturnes to get a better sense of what types of images I wanted to try and make for my photo series of the same name. I ordered a book from the University library where I work, “The life and music of John Field, 1782-1837, creator of the nocturne.” Perfect! Not really, it was rather dry and the chapter on the Nocturnes was a bit technical. It left me less than satisfied. Fast forward a few days and I am in my local book shop perusing the shelves looking for a casual train read when I come upon a book by Mieko Kawakami. She is the author of Breast and Eggs which got amazing reviews especially from Haruki Murakami. I am a big fan of his. I have not read Breast and Eggs but it is on my list. It won the Akutagawa literary prize in Japan back in 2008. It is a female centered book with themes of womanhood, motherhood and bodily autonomy. Since much of my reading has been, unsurprisingly, male centered (I am reading Sam Shepard at the moment) I thought this would be a nice change of world views! Anyway, I picked up, not Breast and Eggs, but and earlier work by Kieko Kawakami, “All The Lovers In The Night.” I turn to the first page and:

“Why does the night have to be so beautiful? As I walk through the night, I remember what Mitsutuka said to me. “Because at night, only half the world remains.” I count the lights. All lights of the night. The red light at the intersection, trembling as if wet, even though it isn’t raining. Street light after street light. Taillights trailing off into the distance. The soft glow from the windows. Phones in the hands of people just arriving home, and people just about to go somewhere. Why is the night so beautiful? Why does it shine the way it does? Why is the night made up entirely of light?“

Wow! I have read and reread that page a dozen times.

I am not entirely lost in Nocturnes. I still walk the streets of New York with my color switch “goggles” on and I happened upon this one on the day before the big snowstorm.