Procrastinators, journalists, and leisure fans have a new tool at their disposal with the release of The Idler’s Glossary. The slim, blue volume by popular U of T professor Mark Kingwell, Boston journalist Joshua Glenn, and illustrator Seth premiered as part of Pages’ This is Not a Reading Series at the Gladstone Hotel on October 8.
Based on an article written by Glenn in the UK magazine The Idler, the 132-page book is described as the “devil’s dictionary for idling classes”, sized perfectly for putting in your back pocket.
In the book’s introduction, “Idling Towards Heaven: The Last Defense You Will Ever Need,” Kingwell ties idling to the philosophies of Kierkegaard, Bertrand Russell, Aristotle, and Lao Tsu. He defines our current pursuit of leisure in such a way that makes simple idling seem more time-consuming.
The glossary, written by Glenn, holds various alternative definitions, slang terms, and commentary not found in your typical dictionary. The entry for “Working Girl” reads, “US slang for ‘prostitute.’ Very telling, wouldn’t you agree?” One of Seth’s personal favourites is “flazy,” a slang term meaning both fat and lazy.
At the meeting of the self-proclaimed members of the Royal Society of the Indolent, Kingwell began the proceedings by having audience members read the “Idler’s 11-Step Recovery Program” (they were too lazy for 12). Among the best points was Number 8: “Considered a list of all persons we had worked for, and became willing to tell them all to get stuffed.”
Kingwell detailed how idling differs from simple leisure. “It’s not production of the kind that is sanctioned by the capital economy,” he said. “It’s not the production of consumption. It’s activity for its own sake and its own beauty.”
While some may argue current economic conditions necessitate a day job, Kingwell argued that a book on idling is relevant now more than ever. “It was greed and growth that drove us to that boom and bust cycle that we’re now witnessing the latest pathology of,” he said. “This is the counter argument; this is the other way of thinking about what life is about.”
It does seem ironic that these three extremely productive and successful men produced a book about being lazy. Kingwell has published 12 books, is a contributing editor to Harper’s Magazine, and lectures weekly to packed classes at the St. George campus. Glenn contributes a weekly column to the Boston Globe, published the journal Hermanaut, and edited the book Taking Things Seriously. An accomplished graphic novelist, Seth has also worked on everything from album covers to designing The Complete Peanuts collection.
Kingwell points out, “If you read on leisure, the person who can genuinely make contemplation their life’s work is either a god or someone who lives outside of society.” They have all figured out how to regularly idle and successfully earn a living.
Those seeking to learn the way of the idler without sliding into slacker territory should follow Kingwell’s oft-quoted line about the “great Daoist Yoda.” “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. That’s idling.”
