I have a friend who sometimes sends me lists. In lieu of a full email, or even a postcard, she writes a list about her life, naming the detritus that adds texture to her life and they become surprisingly effective slices of biography, hinting at who she is at the moment and what is flitting through her life. The key is to write without thinking and let the list tell the story.

Craig Taylor, “A Letter from the Editor: On Wilton’s and Lists”, in Five Dials, Number 11