THE ART OF PROVOKING On wanting
John Doe
THE ART OF PROVOKING
On wanting to be left alone, and needing witnesses.
You want to be left alone, but you also want witnesses.
A study of provocation, vanity, and the strange little wars people start when silence stops paying attention. Two men spend a morning talking to walls, until they find each other. Nobody declares a war. Nobody admits what they're fighting for.
Part observation, part absurdity, part autopsy of the human need to be seen.
An independent essay for TABLE FOR NOBODY, about the distance between wanting peace and wanting the last word.
Writing · Editorial concept · Independent publishing
Like this project
Posted Oct 21, 2026
THE ART OF PROVOKING On wanting to be left alone, and needing witnesses. You want to be left alone, but you also want witnesses. A study of provocation, vani...
