Daguerreologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Daguerreologue

n.
an imaginary conversation with an old photo of yourself, in which you might offer them a word of advice—to banish your worries, soak it all in, or shape up before it’s too late—or maybe just ask them if they thought you had done justice to the life they built for you.

From daguerreotype, a form of early portrait photography + dialogue. Pronounced “duh-gair-uh- lawg.”

Enterhood

adults with stern expressions holding a child

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table

Echthesia

blurry image of two clocks

Lisolia

a bookcase containing objects

Tirosy

a close-up of a young child's face

Alpha Exposure

a close-up of a baby with diffusion filter

Ecury

a close-up of cave drawings and symbols

Yeorie

a woman with tendrils of smoke moving across her face

Énouement

a hand opening a curtain

Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Appriesse

a blurry image of a person looking at mounted images

Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Archimony

a person looking at broken furniture

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Walloway

water faucet that seems to emanate from the ground

Zysia

a kite soaring above an empty landscape

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Star-Stuck

a man walking towards a door with a large question mark

Harmonoia

Cover image for the Harmonoia word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

The Kinder Surprise

Cover image for the The Kinder Surprise word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Elsewise

Cover image for the Elsewise word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Thwit

close-up of a person with forehead wrinkled and holding their head

The Unsharp Mask

a mirror with a reflection of a person

Zielschmerz

Cover image for the Zielschmerz word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Insoucism

Cover image for the Insoucism word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Fitzcarraldo

Cover image for the Fitzcarraldo word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows