“… poetry was and is an art of Memory, of creating new and lasting Meaning, and unless it finds the natural grace and rhythm of the language, or if it forgets to draw from that language's own inner memory, then it leaves no impression, catches nowhere in the mind, and sinks into oblivion, into mere ink and type.” Bravo to the utterance. Not for nothing are the Muses the daughter of Memory (Mnemosyne). Nabokov wanted to call his memoir “Speak, Mnemosyne” and for once sales-minded publishers were right when they persuaded him to change it to “Speak, Memory”
Good luck - subscribed and excited to see where this takes you! Really enjoyed the essay. The rise of the digital economy has obviated the need to actually do things in ones life. The collapse of the divine has reduced many of us to unquestioning materialists and rendered the need to think outside the self obsolete. One sad byproduct of these changes is that we are now beset on all sides, as you note, by onanistic autofiction trafficking in a plodding yet insubstantial blend of narcissism and self-consciousness.
Looking forward to reading more of your writing - curious why you fear Weil!
Thank you MJE! Fear in the Godly sense. Which means I love her, too! I'll certainly be writing about her soon.
“… poetry was and is an art of Memory, of creating new and lasting Meaning, and unless it finds the natural grace and rhythm of the language, or if it forgets to draw from that language's own inner memory, then it leaves no impression, catches nowhere in the mind, and sinks into oblivion, into mere ink and type.” Bravo to the utterance. Not for nothing are the Muses the daughter of Memory (Mnemosyne). Nabokov wanted to call his memoir “Speak, Mnemosyne” and for once sales-minded publishers were right when they persuaded him to change it to “Speak, Memory”
Mr. Fry (Stephen...?) - unsure exactly how to respond to your, and not wanting to be too cringe-inducing a fan, I'll just say: Quite Interesting.
But really, thank you for the very kind words - Mnemosyne and Mnemosyne's Nine are very important to me as well.
Good luck - subscribed and excited to see where this takes you! Really enjoyed the essay. The rise of the digital economy has obviated the need to actually do things in ones life. The collapse of the divine has reduced many of us to unquestioning materialists and rendered the need to think outside the self obsolete. One sad byproduct of these changes is that we are now beset on all sides, as you note, by onanistic autofiction trafficking in a plodding yet insubstantial blend of narcissism and self-consciousness.
Thanks for the subcribe, CKC !