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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Coming to Writing

This is a departure from my usual blogging style, but I believe that you will see more "life musings" from me as this blog goes on, as I deepen my private writing, and display a touch of it on here.

If you are a writer, an aspiring writer, a blogger who doesn't quite consider herself a writer or someone who has always thought "Wow I have a lot to say but don't know how to get it out" I highly recommend "Coming to Writing", an essay by Helene Cixous.
It is not a "how to" book, it does not tell you to set a timer for 15 minutes a day and write your little heart out.

It does nothing less than ignite the fire deep in your soul that yearns to produce something creative, to share with the world your light, and to embrace the glory of the words of others. Deeply emotional, poetically structured, and abounding in a call to action it will remind you why you write, how your writing is in essence a revealing of the core of your nature.

The essay is beautiful, boundless and without parallel.
When I first read it in 2002 I highlighted 12 pages. Pages. Rereading it today I do not feel at all that I overused my highlighter, in fact I'm wondering why I didn't just drag it across the entire piece of work.

I cannot do it justice so I leave you with my three favorite quotes and encourage you to find your fire, let it roam, and write. Even if you choose never to show your writing to anyone, at its soul and center writing is always intended for she who wields the pen.

"Writing begins, without you, without I, without law, without knowing, without light, without hope, without bonds, without anyone close to you, for as world history goes on, you are not in it..."

"[Woman] is defined by her connections, wife of, as she was daughter of, from hand to hand, from bed to niche, from niche to household, woman as the complement-of-a-name has much to do to cut free. They have taught you to be afraid of the abyss, of the infinite, which is nonetheless more familiar to you than it is to man. Don't go near the abyss! If she should discover its force! If she should, suddenly take pleasure in, profit from its immensity! If she should take the leap! And fall not like a stone, but like a bird."

"How what affects me comes into language comes out fully worded, I don't know. I "feel" it, but it is mystery itself, which language is unlikely to let through"

Track this down. Even if you are not a writer, it will awaken you, remind you of your own purpose here, and encourage you to embrace what you are capable of and strive to surpass it, not as a matter of social construct but because of the innate desire to better yourself.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I like the quotes from this. I think a lot of people are afraid of their own power emanating from that abyss and choose not to dwell on it. A shame.