Philosopher becomes Heathrow Airport writer-in-residence

The best-selling popular philosopher Alain de Botton has taken up his post as the new writer-in-residence at Heathrow Airport.

The position, the first of its kind in the UK, will see De Botton set up his desk at the country's busiest airport and observe everyday life there, with operator BAA to give him unprecedented access to all parts of Heathrow Airport, including the recently-opened Terminal Five.

According to the philosopher, airports themselves are places of modern wonder, with passengers to be encouraged to think about their surroundings prior to jetting off to destinations such as Los Angeles or Sydney.

"They're full of all the things that we're told the modern world's about - interconnection, fast travel, the destruction of nature, destruction of the environment, the dreams of consumerism and travel.

"It's all here at an airport and so being able to be a writer in residence here, is just a chance to see in action all these things that we normally just hear about as abstractions."

Heathrow Airport plans to hand out 10,000 free copies of De Botton's book based on his observations when it is finally published.

Posted by Paul, 19 August 2009 11:26

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