"Fences" is the Pulitzer Prize winning play by August Wilson. Very, very good. Not quite "Death of a Salesman, " but then again, nothing is.
"Good Old Neon" is a short story by David Foster Wallace, one of my all-time favorite authors. It was like visiting an old friend.
"Words Like Loaded Pistols" is a tour through rhetoric over the centuries (subtitled "Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama"). A couple thoughts about this one:
The book makes you think "damn words, you powerful!"
But most importantly, the book reminded me that writing and words can be a joy, can be toys for adults. We usually think of writing as a hassle--as in "I have a great idea and this image in my head, and now you expect me to write it all down?" We think words are just the delivery system for what's in your brain, and you can never quite capture your thoughts adequately in words, so the whole process is a frustrating failure.
But that's not how it has to be. Words don't need to be instrumental, they can be their own goal. What if you weren't try to deliver anything? What if you were just playing? When a kid plays with blocks, he's not actually trying to build a house to live in, he's just playing. What if words were just toys to play with? What if you wrote with no goal except to have fun?
And all fun, by definition, includes disdain for results.
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ReplyDeleteI keep seeing Infinite Jest in the book store and wondering about all the things my coworkers have been saying. I may have to suck it up and read the tome. The "power of words" is a concept that I once chalked up to a sappy romanticizing of literature. I am glad to be rid of that ill-conceived notion, or else I might not be able to fully appreciate this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b71rT9fU-I
Right up your alley: words and neuroscience!
Question: What made you decide to read a book each week and then write about it? Does the writing about it motivate you to read, or did you want to motivate others to read (such as your students)? I loved it when I was in graduate school and had the time to have a reading journal--writing about all the lines and ideas that moved me in each book I read. Now I read about what others are reading....
ReplyDelete:-)
What if words were just toys to play with? What if you wrote with no goal except to have fun?
ReplyDeleteI love this! I have been thinking about writing again-and I felt overwhelmed. I like this take on the process-thanks.
Wondering what specifically inspired you to read "Fences?"
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