Teju Cole: Blind Spot

Circa One; Circa Theatre

Saturday, March 10

This Writers & Readers session was Teju Cole in conversation with Paula Morris. Chiefly the discussion was about his excellent new book Blind Spot but from there Cole found his way to talking about his work in a more general sense, his motivations, his multi-discipline approach.

Morris was fantastic at running the session – a strong presence but never taking over from the featured guest. Cole is a great speaker – and though his session the day previous was wonderful in so many ways this was more cohesive, no tech issues this time. We even got a few more photographs, this time images from Cole’s latest book.

The discussion began with some frustrations around social justice warriors – with the publication of Blind Spot Cole had been accused by one fleet-fingered typist as being ableist; in fact the book (photos and accompany text) was created as a response to Cole suffering from a temporary loss of vision in one eye, actually referred to as “Blind Spot Syndrome”.

From there it was to a potted history of Cole’s work and practices – his education and travel. His attempts to locate himself in various roles and geographic locations.

The problem with a speaker (and writer) this good is that you almost want a whole extra session of just Q&A with audience questions only.

Maybe next time – Cole has become a frequent visitor rather quickly and claims to want to come back – he could address an audience and spent the full hour just using questions as a springboard. He’s a vital, influential and inspiring presence. It was a real treat to hear from him twice in two days.
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