You are poised like a pianist over your computer keyboard, about to rip through the silence with a fury of vibrationless sound. Your pen dips down to its paper, and that inky scratching erupts into ripples that rock off the page.
It is 1984. You are the author.
Doty's piece intrigued me because it was so full of assertions regarding the purpose of writing, the power of it, the authority of the author, the meaning of representation versus actual essence, the substance of memory and history, the question of art and truth. Maybe part of it is that I just watched "The Final Cut" for philosophy class, so Doty's words landed on fertile soil. I don't know. At any rate, it has been quite enough to keep my little mind whirring.
We have talked much about writing - for heaven's sake, we are writers! We have pondered it at length. But I never seem to grow calloused to the realization of how much responsibility that role entails. It is almost paralyzingly overwhelming, and I can't think about it when I write.
Emily offers encouragement when she advises me to "Tell it slant," and I feel like that is a bit of what Doty is trying to say too. He is obsessed with telling something right. But what is right? And from there we spiral into all sorts of philosophical questions. But in the end, he and Emily agree that my reality is a part of reality. And it is worth writing. And it is worth other people's knowing.
And that brings me comfort.
Writing is definitely a big job. Doty gives us more than enough to think about there. But in the end, my inky ripples are a part of reality's waves. My keystrokes are a cadenza. I am the author.
Great stuff. I particularly love the music of this sentence: "the purpose of writing, the power of it, the authority of the author, the meaning of representation versus actual essence, the substance of memory and history, the question of art and truth."
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
I find your post very inspiring, Sara. I love when you say that even though writing carries a great deal of responsibility, your "inky ripples are part of reality's waves." That is, your view of the world IS part of the world.
Nothing truer than that.
Yes I thought of "Tell it Slant" too! Doty seems to labor over the idea that maybe he isn't telling his story right, or maybe others will think he was wrong to expose so much, but what is "right" after all? Telling it slant is not the same thing as telling it wrong, or "fictionalized." A lot to ponder...
ReplyDelete"My reality is a part of reality" - this is a wonderful understanding. Grasping this knowledge is crucial to starting to get rid of our fears when writing...intimidations about judgments and misunderstandings and hurt feelings that others may encounter when reading our work. Really, can someone else tell us how we should view the world and write about it? Their criticism will often come out of their desire for our interpretation to match their own. And that will simply never happen in all dimensions.
ReplyDeleteVery thought provoking!