El artificio de la escritura / The artifice of writing


sábado, 7 de junio de 2008

Some rambling digressions

“By my rambling digressions –writes Benjamin Franklin in his Autobiography—I perceive myself to be grown old. I us’d to write more methodically. But one does not dress for private company as for a publick ball. ’T is perhaps only negligence.” An appropriate commentary for the type of writing one does for a blog. A writing loosely similar to the quick note taken on a piece of paper for a later reference, or the kind of direct comment sent to a friend by e-mail, only not completely free from good grammar and fully developed sentences. Franklin is talking about the freedom of writing naturally, following the vagaries of the mind engrossed in the pleasure of thinking or musing about a variety of subjects dear to it. It is the negligence that matters in this act, the naturalness of a simple act, that of putting in writing for the entertainment of others ideas, observations, memories and any sort of information that deserves some consideration.

We all like to communicate with each other, to feel part of a community of individuals who have in common this desire for verbal exchange. We all feel the need to write, to be read, to contribute to the common discourse a point of view, a story, a feeling, some personal words, and to be answered, to be acknowledged as a member of the clan. Old people, as Franklin suggests, are even more inclined to communicating, as if the many experiences of a life were overflowing their minds and memories demanded remembrance.

The internet, with the many opportunities to express one’s views, is an impressive proof of the strong need for individuals to communicate with others, fiend or foe. It is also an example of the almost infinite number of people and their messages darting in all directions in search of a reader. We are all of us writing our “rambling digressions” in the hope of being read, our voices confused with all other voices in the ever growing realm of the digital public market square. This is no place for the agoraphobic.

3 comentarios:

Ed Valenz dijo...

I agree! Great posting...

Anónimo dijo...

I am reading this article second time today, you have to be more careful with content leakers. If I will fount it again I will send you a link

Anónimo dijo...

I would appreciate more visual materials, to make your blog more attractive, but your writing style really compensates it. But there is always place for improvement