I asked them to talk about the "best thing" about writing but by the time the assignment slid onto the third row, the students were saying "what I like best about . . ." or "what I enjoy about . . ." rather than "the best thing." Was this because they had an innate or encultured realization that they couldn't honestly speak for everyone? Or was it because they've (we've?) grown up in a culture which assumes that the individual is special and, in some consumerist Kantian way, thinks, "I am the measure of all things."
Well, in America, we have the socially and legally negotiated "God-given" right to pursue happiness so why not measure the world like an artist in the movies, forever peering past and beyond an upraised thumb?
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| from ArtGraphica.net |
They told me that writing was important and enjoyable because it allowed access to the subconscious, provided a way to speak one's truth, provided access to the pleasure of moving characters around, and because they had to. Sadly, this last has never been my gift. Unlike the great graphomaniacs -- Isaac Asimov, Joyce Carol Oats, Kenneth Burke, Stephen King -- I don't find writing addicting or soothing. I find it annoying, difficult, and hard on my lower back. So, I'll have to go with those students who said that they wrote to tell their truths and to get access to the subconscious.
The question for me is, is this blog the place to do that?
1 comment:
I suppose the real question might be, "How much of my truth am I willing to share?" When writing on my blog, I am often confronted with the idea that someone is reading this. Immediately, my mind begins to edit. (Like the whole world is tuned into my blog!)
However, some days I just don't care. I find, on those rare days, that the words on the screen are much more satisfying to me!
It seems the question now becomes, "How do I not care!"
Thanks for coming and sharing with us!
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