Thin Air

by Stephen Curtis

"Blinded by the sun, he earwigs old men pronouncing the river dead, now the big liners no longer routinely call. He can foresee a time when the latest technological advances render supersonic air travel quaint and slow. In his mind's eye he takes his place in a 22nd-century crowd, gathered together to breathe in the old New World aura of 747 replicas arriving amid great fanfare to mark the finish of the 'Jumbo Jets Race', rather like today's 'Tall Ships Race'. He pictures himself gazing with heavy heart at the dead sky of the future."

Stephen Curtis is a writer based in South Liverpool who has most recently published the collection of essays, 'Freedom in Captivity: The Art of Being a Museum Guard' (December 2019).

'Thin Air' was the first of a series of booklets called 'the Trinity' published throughout 2004 by Black Diamond Press / White Diamond Projects. Supported by Arts Council England and Bluecoat, 'Thin Air: Trinity No.1' was printed as an edition of 700 and formed part of Bluecoat Gallery's 'Put Your Hands Where We Can See Them' exhibition (2004).

The ten black and white photographs featured in the book were taken by Duncan Hamilton in 1998 during a train journey between Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan.

20 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Stephen Curtis, MA (Oxon), BPhil (York) is a former university teacher of English language and literature. He is now a freelance writer, editor, lexicographer and playwright.