No MeowMeowBeenz for Malcolm

Yesterday, ‘Malcolm Lowry’ posted the following paragraph from Under The Volcano on ‘his’ Twitter feed @malcolmlowry:

‘The Consul felt a pang. Ah, to have a horse, and gallop away, singing, away to someone you loved perhaps, into the heart of all the simplicity and peace in the world; was not that like the opportunity afforded man by life itself? Of course not. Still, just for a moment, it had seemed that it was.’

I think that’s beautiful. Having just looked it up, I can tell you it comes from Chapter Seven of Under The Volcano, one of my favourite books on the original List of Betterment. ‘Malcolm’ was obliged to split the paragraph across three successive Tweets; I retweeted all three immediately, struck by their cumulative beauty and truthfulness. No one favorited or retweeted my retweets. By the rules of Twitter, this must mean that Under The Volcano is crap – no MeowMeowBeenz for Malcolm, who has even fewer followers than I do.

Meanwhile, do you know what the most popular retweeted quote of all time is on Twitter? It is ‘Don’t worry, be happy‘, attributed to Bobby McFerrin.

‘Don’t worry, be happy‘. Is that not the opportunity afforded man by life itself? Of course not. Still, just for a moment, it had seemed that it was on Twitter.

QED. Malcolm wins!