One Hundred Eighty-Nine

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Swinburn

The world whispers about all its secrets. Only those who listen intently hear them.

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes
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4 Responses to One Hundred Eighty-Nine

  1. John Swinburn says:
    July 9, 2015 at 4:47 pm

    Your eloquence deserves that blog we’ve talked about, Juan.

  2. jserolf says:
    July 9, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    Admittedly, I spend most of my time thinking of ways to teach literary theory to my literature students, John. This thought of “author as non-existent” or at least “dead” actually belongs to Roland Barthes, and not me.

    While an interpretation of any piece of writing can be undertaken as feminist (oppression to women), Marxist (oppression based on classes), Structuralist, Post-Structuralist, and more, I like Barthes the best.

    Barthes offers me an avenue for forgiveness to the author. It’s the theme that ‘s necessary, not the author. Hence, I find acceptance in the comedy of Bill Cosby, because it’s the comedy writing that’s the point — not the author and his/her life. This also applies to the films of Roman Polanski.

    This has done several things for me as a writer:

    1. It releases me from my egotistical bent of being a writer looking for personal success; hence,
    2. [i]t’s not the author that is important but the mission, or as Melville wrote in Moby Dick, “every great piece first needs a great theme,” not a great author, and this leads into the further sub-thought that….
    3. “my mission” and not myself is the point.

    Frankly, I think writers lose their focus when they begin thinking of themselves entangled in the piece and not the piece itself….how many more times can I repeat myself on this matter?

    On a very facile basis, Facebook can be egotistically based, but as I review your work here, John, i don’t see that in you.

    You, sir, are motivated by the spirit of your mission.

  3. John Swinburn says:
    July 8, 2015 at 7:50 am

    I like that, Juan. “War and Peace” would have been written, regardless.

  4. jserolf says:
    July 8, 2015 at 6:22 am

    The writer is the one who listens….the writer is like some antenna….s/he picks up the vibes, whereupon others move upon it, and like a paradigm, things begin to move.

    Are writers prophets? To some degree, yes, they are there in the right place and time and with the necessary tools.

    Whether Tolstoy existed or not, “War and Peace” would have been written.

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