Seraillon is my first blog. For many years I have kept an informal log of personal notes on books I have read. I was reluctant to turn such a private endeavor into a public one, particularly given that I am an amateur, a university administrator - not an academic. But suggestions by friends that I start sharing some of my responses to books coincided with my reading in 2010 of Hungarian writer Miklós Bánffy’s great “Transylvania trilogy.” While there have been other works about which I could scarcely contain my enthusiasm, this one tipped the scales. Thus this blog was born.
The blog has no particular literary focus; I write about what I read.
Please leave a comment if you see fit or contact me via email.
Several people have inquired about the meaning of Seraillon. It is a place at the confluence of two small rivers in the Ardèche in southern France, and is technically spelled with an added accent: Séraillon. You can see it here in a photograph taken by D. S. Abbott. Several years ago in this spot, I was fortunate enough to pass what I can only characterize as a perfect day. Thus the name Seraillon has become, for me, less indicative of the particular place than evocative of a rare moment and synonymous with the pleasures it offered. In any case, the name has nothing to do with literature. I chose it for the blog title on impulse.
Scott Walters
San Francisco, California
