-
Books
I find physical books comforting. Each one is a statement, somebody somewhere saying “I was here. I made this.” Books are human. By almost any measure they are less convenient, take up more room, and weigh more than digital versions. They require shelves. They collect dust and boring insects. It’s not difficult to take one or maybe two with me, but more than that becomes challenging. Because of my own personal relationship with books, I…
-
Witness
Dante is a witness, who sees and feels on behalf of the reader Karl Ove Knausgaard, “At the Bottom of the Universe,” 152
-
Longing
I find the world unknowable and therefore fascinating, unfamiliar and therefore irresistible. I long for that space where life seems uncertain, where I have to revise or reject the comfortable assumptions and convictions that have structured my life. I used to frequent a local coffee shop where I often saw a particular woman. Whenever she saw me, she would move to the table next to mine and start writing on whatever piece of paper she…
-
Courage
The dismal fact is that self-respect has nothing to do with the approval of others — who are, after all, deceived easily enough; has nothing to do with reputation, which, as Rhett Butler told Scarlett O’Hara, is something people with courage can do without. J. Didion, “On Self-Respect”
-
On Taking Notes
The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who don’t share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself. J. Didion, “On Keeping a Notebook”
-
Of Bicycles and Cameras
Thumbing through a couple books recently — one a collection of photographs, one a book on improving your photographic skills – made something clear: Photographers commonly feel compelled to draw attention to their cameras and their camera settings, whether or not that information serves any purpose. I remain amused by photographers’ obsession with equipment; it reminds me of the ways cyclists sit around and talk about bicycles. If you end up in a trendy, upscale…
-
The Tyranny of “Style”
Style has become both a fetish and a marketing device. We read or, more likely in today’s podcast- and YouTube-dominated world, hear and see over and over again that we have to discover our style as if it’s some buried treasure or a form of therapeutic self-realization (the alternative formulation, “we have to find our style” doesn’t change the point). The person telling us to find our style usually offers to help us do so,…
-
On Painting
No, painting is not made to decorate apartments. It’s an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy. P. Picasso in interview with Simone Téry, March 24, 1945.
-
PBα
I often think of photographs in collections or series, linked to a single subject (e.g., an idea, place, time, experience). Given my preference for printed, physical photographs, I increasingly try to imagine a project in the form of an artist’s book. Artist’s books are not restricted by the format of a traditional book, sequential pages glued (or sewn) together. Instead, an artist’s book gives me the chance to play with form (accordion books, folding books,…
-
Style
But what’s a writer’s “style”?Style is an expression of the interest you take in the making of every sentence.It emerges, almost without intent, from your engagement with each sentence.It’s the discoveries you make in the making of the prose itself. We assume that style is self-expression.It can be, but only in this sense:It’s the fusion of your command of language and your commitment to your own intent,Even as your intent shifts under the weight and…