An Ear for the Outsider

Why minor figures and lost causes might be crucial for us all

I once visited an Italian town that had served as a bolthole for writers, artists and philosophers who needed to recharge their batteries. Figures such as DH Lawrence, Rainer Maria Rilke, Franz Kafka and Friedrich Nietzsche all visited the location for refreshment and renewal at critical or perilous moments in their careers as thinkers and writers. The …