Lightning
Medicine
In the health section of the Times I stumbled upon this beautiful paragraph, written by Abigail Zuger:
‘“A poet,” James Dickey once said, “is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning.” But what about the obvious follow-up question, regarding people who happen to be out in the rain and happen to be struck by lightning? Should each of them then become a poet — or perhaps the author of a slim volume of nonfiction?
The general consensus these days seems to be yes, absolutely. Hence the outpouring of health-related memoirs by hapless targets of violent celestial wrath: the cancer survivors, the rare-disease survivors and the transplantees; the abused, the depressed, the addicted; the obese and the anorexic; the weathered veterans of lifelong health misery and the startled victims of a single bolt from the blue. Not to mention their friends and relations.
Few of these efforts rise to the level of great literature, but that may be beside the point. Should memoirs of illness be held to the same standards as other writing? Or do reader and writer form a different relationship when the health crisis of one becomes the theater of the other, a relationship in which a reviewer has very little business meddling?
After years spent in the company of the sick, I know one thing for sure: there is no story out there that is not a great story. Every single one contains enough pathos, courage, comedy and surprise to power it right to the top of the charts. (This is hardly an original insight: a whole new area of graduate study titled “Narrative Medicine” is based on exactly this premise.)’
I had never heard of James Dickey and what exactly is “Narrative Medicine”?
I guess this is the human condition: we are all – poet or not – hoping to be struck by lightning and we call the waiting period “Narrative Medicine”.
James Dickey makes a cameo appearance in the film "Deliverance", based on his novel, portraying the sheriff of a small Georgia town. He looks the part.
Meaning in writing?
Sounds good, the last sentence, but narrative medicine is not my favorite in the narrow sence/meaning that people write for to cure themselves. It is maybe very healthy to do sometimes, but it doenst seem to be enough for writing a novell. I like thats it unsure what's personal and what not about the novell, being it part of the mystery or so. Or even more so, it just should not matter at all.who wrote it.It should have meaning in itself, making readers look slightly different or otherwise give some unknown perspective. Making them (re)think. Some 'narrative medicine' can do that of cource.
But its just a preference, some like to only be entertained as a reader, or know what they will read in advance even, with no surprices.
Rimbaud
I prefer two lines of Rimbaud tot all the 'narrative medicine' ever written. The fact that something bad has happened to you doesn't excuse bad writing.Milan
By the way, talking about editing, shouldn't 'ontwapende glimlach' in your dreamfragment on your blog be 'ontwapenende glimlach'?If I were an editor, maybe I would also look critically at the sentence:
'Haar borsten waren zeer mooi rond gevormd en symmetrisch.'
I don't know, it kind of gives me the giggles.
Giving you the giggles is good in my opinion in this part. My blog is more set in hyves then on that site btw, with more fragments of writing. At the right bottom side of the screen:
http://milanvanopmeer.hyves.nl/
But the ''ontwapende'' is for almost sure not ok. Lots of editing to be done, indeed:-)
doctor
A'right. So the fragment isn't supposed to be sexually arousing? Because the description of the breasts kind of reminds me of what a doctor would write in a chart after having examined some woman's breasts.It makes you curious if he's a doctor or not, good. In my hyves blog their is a more erotic fragment....but you never know anyways, some people find the strangest things erotic or not (thinking of Hofmeester in Tirza f.e.)
Milan
Some people even think Arnon sexy, a troubled kind of thinking."Ontwapende glimlach"
Milan en M. Hordijk,Voor een personage dat onmiddellijk valt op het reclame cliché van de "zeer mooi, rond gevormde, symmetrische" borstpartij van een vrouw, lijkt juist "een ontwapende glimlach" mij zeer wenselijk. Ik raakte vooral in verwarring door de zin erna: "Ze nodigde me uit om melk te drinken". Uit haar "mooi, rond gevormde, symmetrische borstpartij"? Maar dan wordt er geitenmelk ingeschonken uit een gouden karaf.
Tsja, hoewel ik heb geleerd dat je in 't algemeen ervan uit moet gaan dat de auteur als buitentekstelijk gezien moet worden, krijg ik toch bepaalde ideeën over je, Milan, ook al schrijf je geen "narrative medicine".
Inspiration?
No lightning. Sometimes it is enough to go to sleep.(Last night I dreamed a whole short story. Once I dreamed a whole novel ! And once I even dreamed a wonderful opera, sang in Russian, and I understood everything - when I woke up, I still had tears in my eyes. So beautiful.
No, it is not me: I do not speak Russian and I knew nothing about music.)
Ah discipline and a moleskin…
lightning
oranje boven, oranje boven.M.Houellebecq
Monique,Thats meant to be funny, that part you describe. I thought it was extremely funny when i wrote it;) But it's a bit the 'houellebecq' and actually this character sees himself even as being michel Houellebecq. It is my idea that readers of him should recognize or acknowledge him saying something like this....well to me it looks genuine at least in this, but its all an interpretation of the author o.c., on this character., and a bit intuitively done.
Hordijk
You missed the point.Also Rimbaud is "narrative medicine".
Steve
Why are you studying Dutch?Why Dutch?
Beautiful language. Pronounces the way it's spelled. Precise. Maybe not the language of world commerce, but definitely worth the time. Several interesting writers. Some fine bands. Een beetje keelklank, zeker, maar melodisch ook. I wanted to know what people were saying when I visited. I wanted to say something to them. The problem is I keep having to go home. I wanted to learn Dutch for the same reason actors want to act. I wanted to be somebody else. I know it's a bit absurd, since many in Holland speak fluent English, but I'm a beekeeper and can't eat honey, too, so absurdity is fact of life for me.Point
I did? According to the article, 'narrative medicine' would be something like studying the narratives of the sick, the people that were hit by lightning without wanting to, and are so startled they have to write a book about it?I don't think stories by cancer-survivors are necissarily great stories. You have to be a great writer first.
I don't think Rimbaud wrote because he was accidentily struck by lightning, he would seem to me the prototype of the poet that climbs on the roof holding a stick, hoping to catch the lighting.
