About the Journal

Elephant & Castle, just like the well-known London Underground station, is a magazine conceived as a place of encounter, of crossroads and junctions of ideas, in which the experience of transit is more important than the point of arrival, the interweaving of dialogues more decisive than the conclusions. As Pavese wrote in The Business of Living: ‘The whole problem of life, then, is this: how to break out of one’s loneliness, how to communicate with others. This explains the persistence of marriage, fatherhood, friendships, since they might bring happiness! But why should it be better to be in communication with another than to be alone, is a mystery. Perhaps it is only an illusion, for one can be perfectly happy alone, most of the time. It is pleasant now and then to have a boon companion to drink with, provided that what we ask of others we already possess within ourselves. The mystery is why it is not enough to drink and fathom or own individuality alone. Why we should have to repossess ourselves through others’. I believe that Pavese’s fascinating question may be answered in different ways, and I hope that the issues hosted in this journal may exemplify them.

 

- Alberto Castoldi