tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.comments2023-07-05T07:49:39.205-04:00Sideways-inJohn Pylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-32001187369983439202014-07-04T03:32:23.823-04:002014-07-04T03:32:23.823-04:00Thank you for taking the time to publish this info...Thank you for taking the time to publish this information very useful! keep posting:)<br /><br />www.n8fan.netwhenitbloomshttp://www.n8fan.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-87769169449315849812013-06-08T21:00:49.695-04:002013-06-08T21:00:49.695-04:00I found it chilling, too. Atwood has said that she...I found it chilling, too. Atwood has said that she got the idea by looking carefully at America's past and thinking about deep undercurrents in our culture. (She's Canadian, so that might give her an edge there.) Also, I lived in New England for a while, so some of the scenery she writes about was familiar to me--all the more chilling.<br /><br />Like a lot of futuristic literature, it's cautionary, right? I'd like to think we've progressed beyond having to fear that, but the way some people talk about women still today makes the tale surprisingly current.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-22348450193557688592013-06-08T19:30:25.380-04:002013-06-08T19:30:25.380-04:00I found this tale extreme chilling because it coul...I found this tale extreme chilling because it could so easily become out reality.The World Around Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13451072855417636352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-77877827264702732892013-03-28T22:51:49.421-04:002013-03-28T22:51:49.421-04:00Thanks very much. That's quite a nice compleme...Thanks very much. That's quite a nice complement. I do hear words when I write them. It means a lot to know that aural quality came through to you.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-92140237981167630192013-03-28T22:24:17.404-04:002013-03-28T22:24:17.404-04:00I enjoyed reading this. The way you described the ...I enjoyed reading this. The way you described the flowers gave me a new perspective when viewing them, something that is not so easily done. <br /><br />How you write is very relaxing, I can almost picture it being easily spoken in an audio-book. There is this natural voice that your writing has that is very enjoyable. I look forward to reading more pieces.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-45992387079553751512013-02-28T20:44:23.397-05:002013-02-28T20:44:23.397-05:00Thanks for these thoughts, Edward. The need to &qu...Thanks for these thoughts, Edward. The need to "escape our disbelief" is such a peculiarly modern problem, I think, which might be why fantasy has been so popular. And yes, agreed, that last part is key.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-1331041070428375032013-02-27T18:08:39.465-05:002013-02-27T18:08:39.465-05:00Thank you, Edward! I'm an intensely intuitive ...Thank you, Edward! I'm an intensely intuitive person, but nature (thanks to playing outdoors so much as a child) touches me vividly.<br /><br />So nice to know I'm not the only one who's half-heard that pipe.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-72050408706839164732013-02-24T20:53:00.796-05:002013-02-24T20:53:00.796-05:00Thanks, Christie.Thanks, Christie.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-9689677064513740682013-02-24T09:54:05.309-05:002013-02-24T09:54:05.309-05:00Ah, great to read about Calvino, one of my favorit...Ah, great to read about Calvino, one of my favorite writers. I like what he says here about fantasy allowing us to come to it expecting not to worry over questions of explanation or belief. Fantasy, it seems to me, lets us escape our disbelief, our fear of being foolish, and also the ordinary burdens of belief. I also like the idea you conclude with, this notion that by this game of intellectual play we can clarify what our presence in the world means.Edward Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200155509518659612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-73679264170450370982013-02-24T09:46:50.834-05:002013-02-24T09:46:50.834-05:00I like how tactile your description is here. I can...I like how tactile your description is here. I can feel that grasshopper and imagine those guppies darting away. And always it is so important to emphasize the '<i>half</i>-heard-ness' of that pipe - that summons flitting in and out of audible perception. Odd how just reading about it I can almost hear it again...Edward Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200155509518659612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-29031721119694297912013-02-23T11:38:45.615-05:002013-02-23T11:38:45.615-05:00Thanks for sharing these thoughts. You're not ...Thanks for sharing these thoughts. You're not alone. A lot of people like to handwrite their first drafts. Normally, I just find it limiting. I type so much faster than I can write by hand, and for my first draft, I like to get my thoughts out as quickly as they come to me. Typing it helps me get out of my own way. Later, I slow down, weigh each word-sometimes I'll handwrite a particularly thorny or important passage, for the reasons you mention. In a pinch, or if I'm just in the mood, I will sometimes handwrite a first draft (I find it better for shorter pieces).<br /><br />I guess I'd say there isn't just one way for everyone. Some great writers of old would compose on a typewriter. Some would work it out in their heads first, or tell it out loud. A book like "The Scarlet Letter" was clearly handwritten first - and it shows. The Iliad and fairy tales were worked out orally - and that shows. Hemingway composed dialogue on a typewriter - and that shows, too. Each is brilliant in its own medium.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-55046721436060559152013-02-23T10:58:47.437-05:002013-02-23T10:58:47.437-05:00I've tried Focus Writer for a while. It's...I've tried Focus Writer for a while. It's nice, but I found that I just don't like the computer screen when I'm writing. I hand-write my first couple of drafts, which is the absolute best thing for distraction-free writing. Call me old-fashioned, but writing with one's own hand allows you to truly put yourself into each word you write. It's more alive, more deliberately alive. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-53548072938896769962013-02-22T13:26:13.096-05:002013-02-22T13:26:13.096-05:00Beautiful answer, thank you for sharing.Beautiful answer, thank you for sharing.Christiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18107748184124761940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-39057225975439507122013-02-21T17:19:59.104-05:002013-02-21T17:19:59.104-05:00Thanks very much, Carmine. I hadn't noticed th...Thanks very much, Carmine. I hadn't noticed that side of it - the "small green life" indeed!<br /><br />Like faerie, too, I remember I was a little unsure of that green hopper too. Touching the unknown.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-72985009724195022732013-02-21T15:08:23.292-05:002013-02-21T15:08:23.292-05:00Food for the soul, John. Though the wild underlies...Food for the soul, John. Though the wild underlies everything, even the most concreted behemoths of human creation, its voice is harder to hear through the roar. Whereas a the small green life of a grasshopper in your hand zips you there instantaneously! Wyld Oakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07724169384339460086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-53432855326229972013-02-18T20:19:26.297-05:002013-02-18T20:19:26.297-05:00Very kind of you to say, mel. "high-definitio...Very kind of you to say, mel. "high-definition clarity of the wild places ..." Well said!John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-91959254039336350562013-02-18T06:14:41.943-05:002013-02-18T06:14:41.943-05:00i agree with Austin....absolutely gorgeous imagery...i agree with Austin....absolutely gorgeous imagery, i was instantly transported. i could hear the stream and feel the warm sun on my face...<br /><br />*sigh*<br /><br />yes...the dull outlines of the busy-world are nothing to the high-definition clarity of the wild places....<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-17103295063337165502013-02-16T10:20:43.474-05:002013-02-16T10:20:43.474-05:00"Switching off" is a good way to put tha..."Switching off" is a good way to put that - and a bit sad, even if it is necessary.<br />I'm fortunate that I live in an almost rural small town, with hiking and woods only a short distance away.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping in.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-16900012720852998832013-02-16T10:14:51.378-05:002013-02-16T10:14:51.378-05:00My pleasure. Thanks for stopping by.My pleasure. Thanks for stopping by.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-85323297742479375962013-02-16T05:45:25.224-05:002013-02-16T05:45:25.224-05:00Your final sentence: exactly, I think perhaps we h...Your final sentence: exactly, I think perhaps we have to switch off to a certain extent in an urban environment in order to cope, well I do anyway. You say so much with so few words, thank you!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05066730008932728469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-1862609859201164612013-02-13T19:46:27.684-05:002013-02-13T19:46:27.684-05:00I felt the same way in Boston. Lovely town, so muc...I felt the same way in Boston. Lovely town, so much to do ... why am I not happier here? Missed the stars, I guess.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing that. John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-69454421466044793532013-02-13T19:44:40.216-05:002013-02-13T19:44:40.216-05:00Austin, I'm humbled! Thanks. So good to know I...Austin, I'm humbled! Thanks. So good to know I struck a chord here. John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-89661380168531209762013-02-13T19:42:04.234-05:002013-02-13T19:42:04.234-05:00Thanks very much! Ah yes, nature ...Thanks very much! Ah yes, nature ...John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-60690227874377921062013-02-13T11:05:14.729-05:002013-02-13T11:05:14.729-05:00"Or the city-world becomes, for me, too dull ..."Or the city-world becomes, for me, too dull for words. Too void of sensation, that layer of feeling, like a cocoon of forgetting."<br /><br />This explains perfectly why I felt like I was losing my mind and soul when I lived in the middle of downtown LA for nearly two years. The city-world was dull at first... and then it became something treacherous and severe. Every cell of my body cried out for trees, for green, for that "keen edge". I grew to hate the city, and it wasn't the city's fault-- I'd just been away from my homeland for too long. <br /><br />Thank you for your "sauce". Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08397400242153470523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-26779827915902002932013-02-13T05:29:02.138-05:002013-02-13T05:29:02.138-05:00John, I ADORE this.
This is so rich, so full of w...John, I ADORE this.<br /><br />This is so rich, so full of wonderful phrases and imagery and meaning, I can't tell you how much I love it - and it perfectly, perfectly expresses my own thoughts and sentiment.<br /><br />It's beautiful. Thank you so much. A fantastic piece of writing.Austinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08789849765972235409noreply@blogger.com