Nick Cave refuses to be drawn into polarities, a quality lacking in many current discourses (Nick Cave on love, art and the loss of his sons: ‘It’s against nature to bury your children’, 28 March). It is encouraging to see a cultural figure take this position; it requires both courage and wisdom to do so.
Cave reminds me of a Blakean figure grappling with the complexities of love, loss, spirituality and materialism. He is aware of some of his own vulnerabilities – and rather that disavow them, has faced and accepted them, which is reminiscent of Jung’s work.
We can all grow through loss, and Cave is certainly no stranger to it. I hope he continues to use his creativity to encourage others to aspire to be as thoughtful and humble as he is becoming.
Hugh Palmer
Pocklington, East Yorkshire
• Nick Cave is a gentle and kind soul. So I understand where he’s coming from when he says “There’s a lack of mercy, a lack of forgiveness” when it comes to being “woke”.
But for all that, the human condition is as it is. Meek little lambs get eaten by big, nasty lions, and no amount of reasoned debate or giving horrible people a platform will stop that. It is a harsh lesson, and one it is best not to learn in the first place. But it is true.
Indeed, sometimes, forgiveness is the worst kind of violence. I wish Cave all the love and healing in the world, but I fear for a world where those principles prevail. There are too many lions.
Alexander Hay
Blackpool, Lancashire
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