Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Desiderata Indeed

Extreme prose happened way before extreme sport. When someone sent Evelyn Waugh a copy of "Desiderata", he is said to have written back saying "
"Desiderata is disgusting. I have destroyed it. Desiderata indeed!"
Still, here's one of the least quoted part of the piece:
"But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness"
Writers thrive on fear, fatigue, loneliness and distress. The dark imaginings find voice and expression in the works of Kafka, Kundera and King(Stephen, that is). Writing in this way is creative. Communicating - or commercial acclaim - is, at best, a by-product, hardly worthy of sharing the pedestal or podium.
In short, a trophy case is for the collector, who must never ever be confused with the artist.

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