At last the mystery of the vanishing gift is solved! :-)
So glad the book arrived - and better still, how great that it tangled you up like a spell (a spell!). Also love that the envelope made such an impact - would never have guessed it might give off whiffs of molecular magic! (Next time you're in Berlin, we must go to some office supplies stores together!) For me there's reciprocal magic in seeing your pictures of the envelope and its contents in your hands.
Interesting to hear about the shell-drilling moon snails - the postcard I thought was absurd or whimsical starts to make a more macabre kind of sense.
I have indeed got to the end of the book, and even started again, and I can't really tell you whether it matters if you read a little or a lot. I'm sure there are different ways of enjoying it. One of the passages I marked for future reference starts (on page 104) with "Avoid repetition." It's a microcosm of the whole book (just after halfway through) pointing to the possibility that it's all just an empty conceptual gesture that says nothing. The passage ends (on page 105) like this: "Suppose the current passage, now it is coming to a close, has said something after all. Suppose it has said more than it meant to say. Suppose it has said too much. Suppose, in the parlance of Michael Stipe, it has said too much, yet not enough."
It’s one of my favorite on-ramps to writing — highly recommended. Though it means it can take months to finish a book you really love. The more wonderful the book, the slower it goes.
While I don’t know if I’m up for an oracle muttering in the back of a cave, I enjoyed the freshness of the image and this piece.
I’m not sure I’m ready for the oracle either! Is anyone ever ready for the oracle?
I just finished Jane Hirshfield’s book After. I like to start each day with a few poems, maybe two or three, so I can savor the book.
Hey Sal!
At last the mystery of the vanishing gift is solved! :-)
So glad the book arrived - and better still, how great that it tangled you up like a spell (a spell!). Also love that the envelope made such an impact - would never have guessed it might give off whiffs of molecular magic! (Next time you're in Berlin, we must go to some office supplies stores together!) For me there's reciprocal magic in seeing your pictures of the envelope and its contents in your hands.
Interesting to hear about the shell-drilling moon snails - the postcard I thought was absurd or whimsical starts to make a more macabre kind of sense.
I have indeed got to the end of the book, and even started again, and I can't really tell you whether it matters if you read a little or a lot. I'm sure there are different ways of enjoying it. One of the passages I marked for future reference starts (on page 104) with "Avoid repetition." It's a microcosm of the whole book (just after halfway through) pointing to the possibility that it's all just an empty conceptual gesture that says nothing. The passage ends (on page 105) like this: "Suppose the current passage, now it is coming to a close, has said something after all. Suppose it has said more than it meant to say. Suppose it has said too much. Suppose, in the parlance of Michael Stipe, it has said too much, yet not enough."
Proper replies to all incoming!
Only now realize that the snail postcard is part of a larger work:
https://www.danaengfer.de/portfolio/schneckenhaus-sammlung/
Amazing!
Amazing project. I wonder now if I jumped too soon in identifying it as a moon snail.
I updated the main page with links to the project and her work. Thank you!
I’m reading the book a few pages at a time, the way I often do with books which excite my writerly self. …Love this suggestion, Sal.
It’s one of my favorite on-ramps to writing — highly recommended. Though it means it can take months to finish a book you really love. The more wonderful the book, the slower it goes.
https://www.instagram.com/dana_engfer/p/DNlYfIkINcS/
followed your link to her insta: this post explains exactly how the snail images on the postcards came about ...
Wow! Thank you for finding that.
There’s something about those images which is so affecting.