This article is based on this Dutch article of Martinus Benders: https://martijnbenders.substack.com/p/de-mannen-van-de-zwarte-gaten
The Men of the Black Holes
And then fate strikes, as it does in every human life. And once again, I managed to overcome that fate, but my god, what an ordeal to have to submit your collections to a few networkers who will “meet about the quality,” and what a ludicrous idea that, as a Prince of Letters, you are not allowed to be a self-made man, but only by making continuous concessions to commerce do you stand a chance at a working grant. We, men of the Black Holes! I know better than anyone how you suffer under this torment, Mr. Perez!
In retrospect, I may have identified a little too enthusiastically with Mr. Perez. Through a public records request, I found out that he had been appointed interim director without any qualifications and then, remarkably, remained in that position for ten years—something that completely defies all regulations, but why should we trouble ourselves over that? A true man of the black hole, after all. In response to my book, he supposedly sent me a card, which for unclear reasons never arrived—but well, I console myself with the thought that at least he did not commission a survey agency to assess the value of my book.
And yet, the pain remains: we are both fellow sufferers in an absurd comedy where self-appointed tastemakers and so-called connoisseurs measure our worth against their arbitrary standards. Who decides what real literature is? Who can claim to truly know the black hole? Mr. Perez, with his lost card and dubious career in management, ultimately turned out to be just as lost in the literary universe as I am. Two men of the black hole, each with his own illusions and disappointments, bound together in an ironic pact of futile recognition and eternal misunderstandings.
In short, I have now reached page 190 of the Piranha.
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The most universal poem ever written about the rule of law comes from the Turkish poet Can Yücel:
A Chinese Poem
If the plaintiff is rich and the defendant poor,
the law bends toward the wealthy.
If the plaintiff is poor and the defendant rich,
the disputed land still remains with the defendant.
If both plaintiff and defendant are rich,
the judge apologizes and withdraws.
But look—
only when both plaintiff and defendant are poor,
does justice finally find its place.
Can Yücel – translation: Martinus Benders
That perfectly hits the nail on the head. The rule of law, as such, is an extension of that gang that once occupied castles, surrounded themselves with thugs, and started demanding taxes from other people under the threat of violence. This caste is by definition always right, sets the rules, and the only thing the judge is truly capable of is ensuring those rules are enforced correctly—and even that he does with completely fogged-up glasses.
How I still managed to win the case gloriously under these circumstances is one of the great modern mysteries. Perhaps luck played a role, perhaps my opponents were even more clueless than I was. Or maybe it was simply a rare gust of true justice that happened to manifest itself. Either way, I will only reveal the exact course of events in a few years. I have particularly good reasons for that—reasons that, in their own way, are as poetic as the poem by Can Yücel itself.
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Veronique has once again created a beautiful mantra. She keeps getting better at it, and I keep improving in mixing and mastering, so the project is becoming more enjoyable to work on.
I am now going to study the Kālo Himal Gumba monastery. I wish you a very sunny day.
Yours,
Martinus Benders – 14-03-2025