In the final months of my last year at university, I took a trip to Hogsback, a small village in the Eastern Cape, to meet a potter named Anton. He agreed to be the subject of a soundslide I was producing for my portfolio and was kind enough to let me shadow him for a day. Tucked away in the forests of the Amatole Mountains, his studio overlooked a carpet of tree tops and was filled with the chirping of the forest’s louder residents. There … [Read more...]
About Simone Armer
Born in New York to South African parents, Simone left America just a baby. She was raised in Johannesburg, where she attended high school, then moved to Grahamstown to pursue a Bachelor of Journalism at Rhodes University (UCKAR). After graduating, she was accepted onto the JET Program(me) and relocated to Miyazaki, Japan where she spent the next four years teaching English. Whilst living and traveling in Asia, Simone wrote for Tokyo-based publication Metropolis Japan, and helped establish the first all-English tourism website for her home prefecture, En Miyazaki.
A Quick Guide to Tokyo’s Book Town
The ever-so distinctive smell of old books is a Floo powder that transports me to my childhood: the water heater in primary school that I spent most winter mornings propped up against, chasing like a second Timmy after Julian, Dick, Anne and George through hidden coves and mysterious lighthouses; my grandmother's couch, where I lost entire Saturdays exploring the Enchanted Wood and the Faraway Tree; the back seat of our family's car, where I … [Read more...]