I’m struck by the idea of a relation among strangers. I’ve never thought about having a relationship with all the people I don’t know who are reading the same text as me. So the possibility of finding out Who They Are is exciting but worrying. A bit like finding you have close DNA matches on one of those family tree websites.
For a chunk of my life I used to convene reading groups for The Reader Organisation in the UK. The sessions were very structured, because were trying to corral people into using the stories or poems - ‘using’ in something very like the sense in The Uses of Art. Stories or poems read aloud, to keep it experiential, literary analysis not particularly valued. I guess it was a way of creating a temporary public.
Your idea of a network sounds so much freer, there’s a sort of light, glancing, feeling about it. The slow tempo seems good too!
I love the idea of your reading groups. I've been thinking a lot lately about reading as a practice (or many kinds of practices bundled together), and about the relation of reading and seeing.
Your note makes me feel hopeful, too, that there's potential for a space of conversation right here, of reading together and letting ideas and possibilities unfold in the space between us.
I hope there is! And I love the thought of reading practices, in the plural.
I remember the way I used to jump into a book as if it was a swimming pool, playing, splashing around, holding my breath and going as deep as I could. Pretending to be the characters. Do you remember trying to make things in Castaneda happen (without benefit of peyote)?
Dear Sal
I’m struck by the idea of a relation among strangers. I’ve never thought about having a relationship with all the people I don’t know who are reading the same text as me. So the possibility of finding out Who They Are is exciting but worrying. A bit like finding you have close DNA matches on one of those family tree websites.
For a chunk of my life I used to convene reading groups for The Reader Organisation in the UK. The sessions were very structured, because were trying to corral people into using the stories or poems - ‘using’ in something very like the sense in The Uses of Art. Stories or poems read aloud, to keep it experiential, literary analysis not particularly valued. I guess it was a way of creating a temporary public.
Your idea of a network sounds so much freer, there’s a sort of light, glancing, feeling about it. The slow tempo seems good too!
Mary
I love the idea of your reading groups. I've been thinking a lot lately about reading as a practice (or many kinds of practices bundled together), and about the relation of reading and seeing.
Your note makes me feel hopeful, too, that there's potential for a space of conversation right here, of reading together and letting ideas and possibilities unfold in the space between us.
I hope there is! And I love the thought of reading practices, in the plural.
I remember the way I used to jump into a book as if it was a swimming pool, playing, splashing around, holding my breath and going as deep as I could. Pretending to be the characters. Do you remember trying to make things in Castaneda happen (without benefit of peyote)?
Yes, and yes!
Those Castaneda books were some swimming pool (!).
Dear Sal,
I love this.
Open ended hellos to all.
Like aloha means both hello and goodbye.
I look forward to stepping up and submitting a public letter, to all, being redundant.
Warmly,
Molly Hardison
Indeed, aloha.