Tag: literature

Suffering Gives Weight to Words

From Lavelle:

D’abord, la douleur n’est pas seulement une simple privation d’être, ou diminution d’être. Il y a en elle un élément positif qui s’incorpore à notre vie et qui la change. Chacun de nous ne songe sans doute qu’à rejeter la douleur au moment où elle l’assaille ; mais quand il fait un retour sur sa vie passée, alors il s’aperçoit que ce sont les douleurs qu’il a éprouvées qui ont exercé sur lui l’action la plus grande ; elles l’ont marqué : elles ont donné à sa vie son sérieux et sa profondeur ; c’est d’elles aussi qu’il a tiré sur le monde où il est appelé à vivre et sur la signification de sa destinée les enseignements les plus essentiels.

Here, Dostoyevsky’s alleged statement that, in order to write well, one must suffer, is justified. Suffering gives weight to words; its experience shapes character and understanding. When experienced intimately, it imposes itself. Therefore, it is not necessary for the reader to have similar experiences to appreciate a work of art: from the human condition exposed with authenticity because it is authentically lived, respect springs forth, which opens the door to identification.

Certainly, Poems Such as Salmo I…

Certainly, poems such as Salmo I, La hora de Dios, El buitre de Prometeo, Alborada espiritual, ¡Perdón!, Vencido, Las siete palabras y dos más, or sonnets such as Al destino, Fe, and Resignación are not from Góngora or Lope de Vega. And if, in them, Unamuno showed himself to be “more philosopher than poet,” what, then, is the poetic quality that such verses lack? Or rather: in what sense would the poetic verve of those authors be superior to that of Unamuno? The truth is that, in the aforementioned poems, the expression could not be more vigorous, nor the motivation more authentic. And if that does not place Unamuno in the first echelon of Spanish poets, perhaps it would be convenient to create a new group to include him—and this would be the group of poets whose reading is most meaningful to the reader.

Ortega y Gasset, Antonio Machado, Pío Baroja…

Ortega y Gasset, Antonio Machado, Pío Baroja… Spanish literature has given me some memorable reads. None, however, have provoked in me a feeling similar to what I experienced after coming into contact with Unamuno, who seemed like a family member to me. There are cases like this in literature: a line separates admiration, empathy, and appreciation from this unmistakable feeling of identification. And it is always special to see in an author a member of one’s own species, whose concerns are those intimately felt, whose expression vocalizes something that could be said by oneself. Rare, but when it occurs, it shows that there is no untransmittable individuality; there have always been and always will be others who, through literature, can understand.

The Most Enjoyable Aspect of Writing…

The most enjoyable aspect of writing is the possibility of completely individualizing the process, allowing the subjective element to act as an enhancer. In most occupations, this is not possible, and the effectiveness of the process usually requires objective sequential execution, something that tends to be discouraging over time. But the writer can easily get used to making a cup of coffee or lighting a cigarette before work and effectively witness that, in doing so, ideas begin to flow. In his creative process, there is room for all his quirks, and this produces enormous satisfaction.