"I think you have just demonstrated, Maria, that these tracings and
connections continue on the web.
Mairead"
Thanks Mairead - I would agree in one sense - that yes, on the web, we make
connections of mind and thought - but as sentient beings, I think there is
a distinct and unique pleasure in the tactile nature of texts, in the actual
handling and sighting, as well as in the unique relationship that is created
between a past owner of a text through their own marks made on the text, and
the current reader or literally 'holder' of that precious moment.
That, I think, is a connection that occurs most purely and honestly in the
physical realm of experience.
I can share, in words on the web, my experience of owning a copy of James
Macauley's works of Dryden, with marks in pencil made by the poet on the
page. But it is only in actually tracing the outline of the marks with my
eyes on the page, or by feeling the tactile nature of the paper, that a
connection with both the printed word and the mind of a previous reader can
be made that does not seem possible any other way.
Perhaps it comes down to the physical intimacy of the moment of connection -
between the "I" of the reader (in present time), the "I" of the poet (in
thought) and the "I" of the reader that has gone before (the past)- leaving
their marks on the page.
regards
maria
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