Nick Cave

You see, The Red Hand Files are not just about answering the enquiry, they are first and foremost about listening to the question. I get about fifty to a hundred letters a day and part of my commitment to the project is to read each question carefully, and be alert to what each person is trying to say.

This practice of reading the questions is, in its way, a form of prayer, because prayer is primarily about listening. It allows the necessary space to experience the subtle intimations of the divine, and to acknowledge God’s divine need — what is required of us. In the questions that come into The Red Hand Files I feel this same want echoed in my own need, the speaking of one’s pain into the pain of another, the toing and froing of our mutual desire for simple affirmation. So, here I am, and there you are, and happy third birthday to us all.

Nick Cave