POIGNANTLY, the red cover of Kurt Cobain’s Mead spiral notebook says, “If you read, you’ll judge.” The statement contains at least one worthy, though perhaps unintended, truth. To wit, reading is not the path to nonjudgementalism. It places one on the road of evidence, which goes straight to the land of informed opinion.
The late Nirvana singer’s scrawled message also contains a prediction: After reading this soon-to-be-published journal (excerpted in the latest Newsweek), you “will” (note the future tense) sit in judgement over Kurt Cobain. As predictions go, this one’s self-pitying and defensive but pretty much on target. The late singer may also have been issuing an invitation. Why else, on the cover of his diary, go out of his way to suggest “you” read and sit in judgement?
