> I received an email from a colleague who wanted me to talk to the Dean that opened, “Is it time for us to have a chat with the dean? Are we remembering what was promised us, last spring, at lunch? Are we going to let history repeat itself?” I suffered pique at this and wrote back, “Are your emotions pure? Are your nerves adjustable? How do you stand in relation to the potato? Should it still be Constantinople?”
Lord, this paragraph gave me life. This is why we need Academia - somewhere needs be a shelter for the people with both the wit to write this response and the job security to actually send it, if only to provide the rest of us with the solace of knowing it exists.
The context isn't fully spelled out, but Powell is describing the inspiration for "The Interrogative Mood: A Novel?" Those lines are the beginning of his novel and the novel itself is entirely in the form of questions.
So he's just mocking the melodramatic message of his colleague? As someone who's not that well read, I find his response nonsensical, so I imagine I'm missing a reference or two.
I may be reading too far into it, but I think he _is_ mocking his colleague by responding to questions with similar questions.
> Are your emotions pure?
Are you thinking through this with clear thought and emotion?
> Are your nerves adjustable?
Do you feel so strongly about this that it has affected you this whole time, since spring?
> How do you stand in relation to the potato?
Can you not support yourself? Are you as wellrounded or less so than a potato?
> Should it still be Constantinople?
Can the outcome not change even when history repeats itself?
The last one to me seems like the indicator that these questions are not nonsensical. As it is is direct reference to the colleague's question about history repeating itself and refers to a location which changed back and forth numerous times.
Lord, this paragraph gave me life. This is why we need Academia - somewhere needs be a shelter for the people with both the wit to write this response and the job security to actually send it, if only to provide the rest of us with the solace of knowing it exists.