-Black and White-
Not long ago, I read Franzen reading Gaddis. Now, on the eve of moving out of my apartment, in between the penultimate and final semesters of library school, I'm reading Franzen's master tome The Corrections, and his essays on the controversy surrounding the essay in Harpers.
Yes! It's novel-flexing time, I suppose.
From this position in 61C cafe in Squirrel Hill, I can see my reflection in the tinted window of the liquor store across the street. Usually faded in the semi-gloom, the image is clearly exposed when the sun leaps in sudden brilliance between clouds. I can see the white T-shirt, (a bit hunched, as I am) and even the green lettering, which gives me pause. Rarely do my shirts display any text, since advertising and bad puns irk me.
And in this coffee house, as in most, a white shirt stands out among the black shirts favored by all the other pen-packing and laptop crunching auteurs - nearly always male - who undoubtedly buoy the caffeine industry with their attempt at "coolness."
I don't doubt they believe in their work. To filter imagination through saleable units of sophisticated text is "cool" even if you never saw your admirers. Some of the best and most fulfilling fans I can claim are creations of my dreams, committed to paper before I forgot them. To read about this character, and catch your breath in your throat when she is spotted in the face of a fellow bus-rider for a split-second...is enough to keep me amused for hours.
So, if one lacks the physique or the politics of a sports hero, one may cloak oneself in the guise of cleverness and alternative ideas. Why? Mostly to attract lovers and friends.
This presents some difficulties, but also many positive changes everyone enjoys. Even if the auteur is a variation of the mating urge, the difference gives hope to the disenfranchised. A multiplicity of talents means more opportunities for procreational achievement.
In truth, I do feel a bit cheapened by the amount of scribbling going on, in the sense that I enjoy an activity used by many as an accessory to mating. Fortunately, independent filmmaking seems to be siphoning off many would-be writers, even if they too write on notebooks and laptops over caffeinated beverages.
Besides, I'm not wearing black. I only have one black shirt, and I'm saving it for Carson street in case I ever encounter a certain panhandler again.
Not long ago, I read Franzen reading Gaddis. Now, on the eve of moving out of my apartment, in between the penultimate and final semesters of library school, I'm reading Franzen's master tome The Corrections, and his essays on the controversy surrounding the essay in Harpers.
Yes! It's novel-flexing time, I suppose.
From this position in 61C cafe in Squirrel Hill, I can see my reflection in the tinted window of the liquor store across the street. Usually faded in the semi-gloom, the image is clearly exposed when the sun leaps in sudden brilliance between clouds. I can see the white T-shirt, (a bit hunched, as I am) and even the green lettering, which gives me pause. Rarely do my shirts display any text, since advertising and bad puns irk me.
And in this coffee house, as in most, a white shirt stands out among the black shirts favored by all the other pen-packing and laptop crunching auteurs - nearly always male - who undoubtedly buoy the caffeine industry with their attempt at "coolness."
I don't doubt they believe in their work. To filter imagination through saleable units of sophisticated text is "cool" even if you never saw your admirers. Some of the best and most fulfilling fans I can claim are creations of my dreams, committed to paper before I forgot them. To read about this character, and catch your breath in your throat when she is spotted in the face of a fellow bus-rider for a split-second...is enough to keep me amused for hours.
So, if one lacks the physique or the politics of a sports hero, one may cloak oneself in the guise of cleverness and alternative ideas. Why? Mostly to attract lovers and friends.
This presents some difficulties, but also many positive changes everyone enjoys. Even if the auteur is a variation of the mating urge, the difference gives hope to the disenfranchised. A multiplicity of talents means more opportunities for procreational achievement.
In truth, I do feel a bit cheapened by the amount of scribbling going on, in the sense that I enjoy an activity used by many as an accessory to mating. Fortunately, independent filmmaking seems to be siphoning off many would-be writers, even if they too write on notebooks and laptops over caffeinated beverages.
Besides, I'm not wearing black. I only have one black shirt, and I'm saving it for Carson street in case I ever encounter a certain panhandler again.
posted by Benedict | 3:14 AM
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