Padlocks on the Brooklyn Bridge

On my morning walks over the Brooklyn Bridge, I’ve noticed a fairly recent phenomenon: People have been clipping padlocks (and sometimes combination locks) to the railings, or to brackets attached to the stone towers, especially the one on the Manhattan end of the bridge. Some are engraved with the names of couples, some are inscribed with a Sharpie, and some are plain.

Meanwhile, having just read and enjoyed I Do Not Come to You by Chance, I was pleased to see that the author has won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Africa. I heard about it from African Literature News and Review, a lively and useful blog by Nigerian author and professor Chielo Zona Eze.