A lovely and timely essay; thank you; a serendipitous find on a leisurely Saturday morning. One of my great-grandfathers came from Sweden to the US, in the last quarter of the 19th century, meeting my Ireland-born great-grandmother somewhere along the way. My grandmother, their youngest child, was forever and devoutly fascinated with both countries, and always seemed to be yearning for those two places she had never been.
“that intellectual and artistic rigorousness, unlike edge, can coexist with the kind of softness that I seem to be needing just now.” - This contrast puts me in mind of a cotton plant, or flax, or wheat - the stiff yet pliable stems and stalks and casings cradling the soft to-become-cloth parts. Rigor but not harsh, and intrinsically coexisting.
I think many overlook the life-giving value of softness. Many more underestimate its strength.
I'm very glad, and welcome! It's nice to hear that it worked and that it came at the right time. I think that softness is a hard topic to think about, and easy to overlook or devalue. t was really nice to try to untangle my thoughts a little (with the help of Samantha Clark's wonderful art and essays). Like the image of the fiber stalks, and am thinking that your grandmother's parents likely were wonderful storytellers, to have made that kind of an impression on her of the places they had left behind.
Oh, thank you so much! For reading, and for these words. This lovely comment made me pause and think about beauty, both in writing and in physical space. The pause was because the physical space in the house isn't precisely beautiful, compared to most — that is, it is so small and simple, and the objects are random mishmashes of things often from fleamarkets, rather than thought-through choices, But the atmosphere, the overall feel, gives people what I hope it will give them, I think, and that does indeed feel like a kind of beauty, the way the atmosphere in a classroom, when everyone is really in conversation with each other, can feel like a kind of beauty. Thank you for this!
Excellent essay. There are correlatives that might sort of align with your assessment. Perhaps one is how faces are drawn in cartoons. Straight lines (or edges) in faces are for strong emotions and drama. Curvy (or soft) lines are for comedy or more simple emotions. Drama relates more towards adults, and comedy more towards children. Adults eat formal dinner in the dining room at a huge table. Children often eat at a smaller table in the kitchen. So maybe a very wise person asks, which is more powerful, anger or laughter? So the fool, who eats dinner outside with the dog, says, "laughter." "Why?" the wise person asks. Laughter cures heartbreak and anger only makes it worse. It could be faulty logic but there seems to be certain characteristics or subtle patterns, like "softness" that teach us a better way to live. Your essay really gets one thinking. Thanks so much for reposting it and congrats!
Really interesting. Liked it a lot!
Thank you, Toni! I’m so glad.
A lovely and timely essay; thank you; a serendipitous find on a leisurely Saturday morning. One of my great-grandfathers came from Sweden to the US, in the last quarter of the 19th century, meeting my Ireland-born great-grandmother somewhere along the way. My grandmother, their youngest child, was forever and devoutly fascinated with both countries, and always seemed to be yearning for those two places she had never been.
“that intellectual and artistic rigorousness, unlike edge, can coexist with the kind of softness that I seem to be needing just now.” - This contrast puts me in mind of a cotton plant, or flax, or wheat - the stiff yet pliable stems and stalks and casings cradling the soft to-become-cloth parts. Rigor but not harsh, and intrinsically coexisting.
I think many overlook the life-giving value of softness. Many more underestimate its strength.
I'm very glad, and welcome! It's nice to hear that it worked and that it came at the right time. I think that softness is a hard topic to think about, and easy to overlook or devalue. t was really nice to try to untangle my thoughts a little (with the help of Samantha Clark's wonderful art and essays). Like the image of the fiber stalks, and am thinking that your grandmother's parents likely were wonderful storytellers, to have made that kind of an impression on her of the places they had left behind.
This is such a beautiful, thoughtful piece. I love the sound of the softness in your home, it sounds very beautiful.
Oh, thank you so much! For reading, and for these words. This lovely comment made me pause and think about beauty, both in writing and in physical space. The pause was because the physical space in the house isn't precisely beautiful, compared to most — that is, it is so small and simple, and the objects are random mishmashes of things often from fleamarkets, rather than thought-through choices, But the atmosphere, the overall feel, gives people what I hope it will give them, I think, and that does indeed feel like a kind of beauty, the way the atmosphere in a classroom, when everyone is really in conversation with each other, can feel like a kind of beauty. Thank you for this!
Excellent essay. There are correlatives that might sort of align with your assessment. Perhaps one is how faces are drawn in cartoons. Straight lines (or edges) in faces are for strong emotions and drama. Curvy (or soft) lines are for comedy or more simple emotions. Drama relates more towards adults, and comedy more towards children. Adults eat formal dinner in the dining room at a huge table. Children often eat at a smaller table in the kitchen. So maybe a very wise person asks, which is more powerful, anger or laughter? So the fool, who eats dinner outside with the dog, says, "laughter." "Why?" the wise person asks. Laughter cures heartbreak and anger only makes it worse. It could be faulty logic but there seems to be certain characteristics or subtle patterns, like "softness" that teach us a better way to live. Your essay really gets one thinking. Thanks so much for reposting it and congrats!
I like this — thank you!
You're welcome. Looking forward to reading your next thoughtful very perceptive post.
Thank you — that means a lot.