Mind you, Nathan, there's a long tradition, in writing, of writers
questioning the worth of writing (and reading!) It goes back far, recall the
Phaedrus, where Plato has Socrates tell:
"But when they came to letters, This, said Theuth, will make the Egyptians
wiser and give them better memories; it is a specific both for the memory
and for the wit. Thamus replied: O most ingenious Theuth, the parent or
inventor of an art is not always the best judge of the utility or inutility
of his own inventions to the users of them. And in this instance, you who
are the father of letters, from a paternal love of your own children have
been led to attribute to them a quality which they cannot have; for this
discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because
they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written
characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have
discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your
disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers
of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be
omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company,
having the show of wisdom without the reality."
On 24/03/2008, Nathan Hondros <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> "real writers read". I couldn't agree more, Doug. I don't think there was
> ever a writer who wasn't also a voracious reader.
>
> On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 1:22 AM, Douglas Barbour <[log in to unmask]
> >
> wrote:
>
>
> > Ah, now pardon me for the previous posts. You seem to realize what's
> > needed.
> >
> > The thing of it is, each of us finds the writers we need (are
> > different, quite often).
> >
> > Doug
> > On 24-Mar-08, at 7:14 AM, Nathan Hondros wrote:
> >
> > > I have this notion that it may be possible to teach literature and
> > > criticism
> > > (the construction of the tools; Anny, I like that analogy) but that an
> > > academic understanding of writing and its methods, or even the complex
> > > interaction of a reader with a poem, is more elusive. I can barely
> > > describe
> > > the way in which I interact with a good poem, let alone understand
> > > it on
> > > more than merely a formal level. Can this form of emotional
> > > intertwining
> > > between an audience and a work of art be taught? Perhaps I am saying
> > > that
> > > what I love is the personal experience of a poem, and not the
> > > breadth of
> > > understanding or intellectual concept that underpins it.
> > >
> > > I do disagree with the tabula rasa model. All writing owes a debt to
> > > the
> > > good and the mediocre that went before it, and this must be learned or
> > > unlearned as the case may be.
> > >
> > > Ezra Pound advised writers to "pay no attention to the criticism of
> > > men who
> > > have never themselves written a notable work". I've read William
> > > Faulkner
> > > quoted as saying that real writers are far too arrogant to listen to
> > > anyone
> > > when it comes to their writing. These two quotes fit so well
> > > together, don't
> > > they?
> > > But, of course, these thoughts of mine are unschooled. Perhaps the
> > > value of
> > > schooling in these matters is in knowing what has been thought and
> > > spoken
> > > before, so that one doesn't end up repeating what everyone else
> > > already
> > > knows? I apologise if that's the case with the rant above!
> >
> > Douglas Barbour
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/
> >
> > Latest books:
> > Continuations (with Sheila E Murphy)
> > http://www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp?LID=41&bookID=664
> > Wednesdays'
> >
> >
> http://abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-from-aboveground-press_10.html
> >
> > to rid me of
> > the ugh in
> > thought
> > i spell anew
> > weave the world
> > out of the or
> > binary
> >
> > bpNichol
> >
>
--
David Bircumshaw
Website and A Chide's Alphabet
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
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