Writing about T Shirts

Writing about T shirts

One of my favourite authors is Haruki Murakami. His novels are strange and compelling, and he writes in a deceptively simple manner. In interviews Murakami comes across as a man who writes for all the right reasons. He doesn’t seem to care at all for fame and unapologetically insists that what he puts into his books is the way he sees reality. If others don’t care for his world view, that’s their problem.

Like me, Murakami loves music and he loves running. In both areas he finds inspiration and direction for his writing. Music can teach us about rhythm and rhythm is critical for writers. Those who can make their words sing are the most talented of authors.

Like many writers, Murakami is a runner. He runs every day and swims most days. He claims that physical fitness is necessary for the rigours of putting down words. His book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is required reading for anyone who loves to run and write.

I’ve just finished reading Murakami T, which believe it or not, is a description of his immense T shirt collection. I’m sure that many people would suggest that the only reason Murakami can publish a book about his T shirts is that he’s a famous author. There is certainly some validity to that complaint, but the reason I was interested in the book is that I’ve learned that everything Murakami writes is fascinating.

He starts off the book wondering why anyone would be interested in someone else’s T shirts and then goes on the suggest that the only value here may be that people in the future could be interested in knowing what people of our time wore. Immediately after saying this, he writes “probably not”.

Not everyone will appreciate this kind of humour, but it speaks to me. Here is a writer who is completely honest with his readers. He explains how the book came about and then suggests that it is quite fine if you don’t see any value here.

A good writer can write about anything. Perhaps a real test of writing ability is how well you can draw a reader into something truly mundane.

Near the beginning of the book Murakami states that he isn’t a collector, things just seem to accumulate around him. This is his explanation for his 100,000 music albums and drawers full of T shirts. I can relate to this. I would never define myself as a collector, but when I think about it, I do have quite a pile of T shirts.

And these shirts say something about me and what interests me in the world. In the photograph accompanying this blog there are four of my favourite T shirts. It surprised me to find that it wasn’t easy to pick out just four. I had to pass by a shirt from the second version of Lolapolooza, a beautiful red reminder of a trip to an island off Australia, and souvenirs from concerts by Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Because I have run many races, I have a serious collection of race T shirts. The one from the Boston Marathon is special to me because it is a reminder of the hours and miles of training it took to qualify to run this race. The Jugglers Park T shirt tells of my fascination with juggling and it’s a memory of the time I performed for a crowd of over one hundred. The Groundling T shirt is a souvenir from my visit to the Globe Theatre in London, certainly an important place in any writer’s world. Finally, there is a VIRAL T shirt. I don’t wear this one often, but it has a special place in my heart.

Maybe it is possible to write about my T shirts, but those four are enough for now.