My Commonplace Book

“Africa! Africa! Your sufferings have been the theme that has arrested and engages my heart—your sufferings no tongue can express; no language impart.” William Wilberforce’s opening lines in his April 2, 1792 address to the British Parliament
To be a witness does not consist in engaging propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in [...]

I’ve been running lately to U-2’s song, Where the Streets Have No Name. You can’t run slowly listening to this song–so I can only listen to once or twice in my jogging playlist. I’m not sure what it means exactly. Bono said it reflected a desire to find a place unlike Belfast [...]

‘We have the power to change the world if we work together,’ says Bono, in this clip. Bono Clip (Quicktime)

I’m fascinated by the creative process. After listening to Bono talk about the pleasure of music…of hearing a melody in his head one morning and seeing it become a song famous in both Tokoyo, Japan and Birmingham, Alabama….., I found the following thoughts on my son-in-law’s website, andrewlandersproject. Andy wrote following thoughts about [...]

Heard a fascinating interview with Bono today. I loved everything he said and found myself tearing up as he talked about the aids crisis and about “stupid poverty.” Here are just some of his lovely lines:
To wake up with a melody in my head! It is a great gift.
In art (song writing), [...]