What a wonderful essay! It articulates so much of what I’ve been thinking about, particularly the alchemical nature of words and the disparagement of language in spiritual circles. Thank you for sharing. I need to find a way to read that Judt essay!
Matt, this is superb and speaks exactly to the process I’m immersed in — that of learning to slow down, be patient and clearly write even while constantly being pulled in by the richness of the ineffable and unknown as well as the beautiful derangement of typical sense in poets like Rimbaud or novelists like Cortazar. I think what is involved is a negotiation of these two impulses rather than a choice between them.
Well said, Peter. In the book I'm presently writing (finishing, actually; all but done now), the entire second section, titled The Flashpoint of Silence, is about the tension between the creative drive toward writing and activity and the opposite or complementary drive toward silence and stillness, all within the context of an awareness of the mystery into which we're living. Sounds like you and I are charting a similar course.
Fantastic piece, thank you. You won’t be surprised to hear that I feel a certain congruence with music and its present manifestations in Western culture. I was really struck by Judt’s proclamation that ‘[i]f we privilege personal expression over formal convention, then we are privatizing language no less than we have privatized so much else.’ This logic puts paid to the prevailing wisdom that personal expression trumps everything, instead indicating that ideas about personal expression have been promulgated in order to isolate and thereby make people more vulnerable to the constructed necessities of consumerism.
I’ve felt a growing frustration in conversations about music, where it has become difficult to proffer legitimate criticisms about artistic motivation, integrity, or ability without being accused of elitism or gatekeeping. Musical taste is deeply personal, of course, and nobody has the right to question anyone’s experiences of music; this does not, however, mean that the music or musicians in question are beyond challenge, or that the currents of which that musical moment are a culmination are not myriad, complex, and potentially problematic.
If we are unable to engage in dialogue about artistic forms and works, we will arrive at a place where, as Judt states, everything is privatised and, therefore, nothing has any meaning. It’s a perfect equation for capitalism, but a terrible outcome for sentient beings.
I ought to add that I think there’s been a similar trend in musicianship, i.e. a move towards embracing personal expression, but laced with a suspicion of or disregard for traditional (and I mean this in the broadest possible sense of the word) and dedicated instrumental development. Personal expression in music is vital, yes, but when we do away with musical forms of wisdom in pursuit of the purely personal, we cut ourselves off from the cultural and historic flow of which we are an emanation. The further eroded our arts become, the less able is the average person to discern grounded forms of practice.
I agree with you intensely, John, and I appreciate your quite effective statement of these points. In A Course in Demonic Creativity, I talk at length about the need for *active waiting* in our relationship with the demon muse. This is the opposite of simply waiting to feel inspired. It's waiting by actively making yourself available, not only by setting aside time/space for your work/art but by putting in the necessary practice to learn the knowledge and skills that will enable you to capture and express the inspiration if/when it arrives. The same principle applies to what you're talking about. In music, writing, and anything else, personal expression is all well and good. But if it's not wedded to actual skills and abilities, honed through practice, that enable articulacy in whatever form or medium is needed, then it becomes sheer inarticulateness trying to pass itself off as something profound, like Weird Al Yankovic's brilliant puncturing of the 1990s grunge spirit in his "Smells Like Nirvana," where the final lines of the lyrics, in parody of Kurt Cobain's quasi-glossolalia in "Smells Like Teen Spirit," devolve first into gibberish and then into a pure primal wail, as if that's really all that the song and the whole attitude and aesthetic were about. Without the vehicle of actual forms, everything from song lyrics to music to novels and essays turns to a primal mush.
Couldn't agree more. 2 axioms come to mind: We have to learn the rules before we can break them; and we can only stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.
Thank you so much for this essay. It has clarified lots of things for me. Ironically AI might have the (unintended) effect of shedding light on the difference between mechanical activity and activity that brings personal, inner and spiritual benefit. Hopefully that will help us appreciate genuine ways of self expression all the more. I completely relate to your points about the exercise of self expression being a vital method for clarifying and honing our thinking. Writing definitely plays that role for me. I am not completely sure what I want to say until I have written it! And finally, being a Buddhist practitioner, I am very interested in the relationship between truths and experience beyond words and the use of words to communicate. I believe that both have their place and if we are careful and sensitive in the way we use our words, we need not break the magic thread.
What you say resonates with me strongly, Dominique. The "magic thread" you mention is a great metaphor. And I agree that if we attend to our experience with care, we don't have to break that connection between words and what lies beyond them.
What a wonderful essay! It articulates so much of what I’ve been thinking about, particularly the alchemical nature of words and the disparagement of language in spiritual circles. Thank you for sharing. I need to find a way to read that Judt essay!
Thanks so much, Dan. I just sent you a DM.
Matt, this is superb and speaks exactly to the process I’m immersed in — that of learning to slow down, be patient and clearly write even while constantly being pulled in by the richness of the ineffable and unknown as well as the beautiful derangement of typical sense in poets like Rimbaud or novelists like Cortazar. I think what is involved is a negotiation of these two impulses rather than a choice between them.
Well said, Peter. In the book I'm presently writing (finishing, actually; all but done now), the entire second section, titled The Flashpoint of Silence, is about the tension between the creative drive toward writing and activity and the opposite or complementary drive toward silence and stillness, all within the context of an awareness of the mystery into which we're living. Sounds like you and I are charting a similar course.
Fantastic piece, thank you. You won’t be surprised to hear that I feel a certain congruence with music and its present manifestations in Western culture. I was really struck by Judt’s proclamation that ‘[i]f we privilege personal expression over formal convention, then we are privatizing language no less than we have privatized so much else.’ This logic puts paid to the prevailing wisdom that personal expression trumps everything, instead indicating that ideas about personal expression have been promulgated in order to isolate and thereby make people more vulnerable to the constructed necessities of consumerism.
I’ve felt a growing frustration in conversations about music, where it has become difficult to proffer legitimate criticisms about artistic motivation, integrity, or ability without being accused of elitism or gatekeeping. Musical taste is deeply personal, of course, and nobody has the right to question anyone’s experiences of music; this does not, however, mean that the music or musicians in question are beyond challenge, or that the currents of which that musical moment are a culmination are not myriad, complex, and potentially problematic.
If we are unable to engage in dialogue about artistic forms and works, we will arrive at a place where, as Judt states, everything is privatised and, therefore, nothing has any meaning. It’s a perfect equation for capitalism, but a terrible outcome for sentient beings.
I ought to add that I think there’s been a similar trend in musicianship, i.e. a move towards embracing personal expression, but laced with a suspicion of or disregard for traditional (and I mean this in the broadest possible sense of the word) and dedicated instrumental development. Personal expression in music is vital, yes, but when we do away with musical forms of wisdom in pursuit of the purely personal, we cut ourselves off from the cultural and historic flow of which we are an emanation. The further eroded our arts become, the less able is the average person to discern grounded forms of practice.
I agree with you intensely, John, and I appreciate your quite effective statement of these points. In A Course in Demonic Creativity, I talk at length about the need for *active waiting* in our relationship with the demon muse. This is the opposite of simply waiting to feel inspired. It's waiting by actively making yourself available, not only by setting aside time/space for your work/art but by putting in the necessary practice to learn the knowledge and skills that will enable you to capture and express the inspiration if/when it arrives. The same principle applies to what you're talking about. In music, writing, and anything else, personal expression is all well and good. But if it's not wedded to actual skills and abilities, honed through practice, that enable articulacy in whatever form or medium is needed, then it becomes sheer inarticulateness trying to pass itself off as something profound, like Weird Al Yankovic's brilliant puncturing of the 1990s grunge spirit in his "Smells Like Nirvana," where the final lines of the lyrics, in parody of Kurt Cobain's quasi-glossolalia in "Smells Like Teen Spirit," devolve first into gibberish and then into a pure primal wail, as if that's really all that the song and the whole attitude and aesthetic were about. Without the vehicle of actual forms, everything from song lyrics to music to novels and essays turns to a primal mush.
Yes! That’s exactly it. Thanks Matt.
Couldn't agree more. 2 axioms come to mind: We have to learn the rules before we can break them; and we can only stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.
Both sound appropriate to me. Well observed.
Thank you so much for this essay. It has clarified lots of things for me. Ironically AI might have the (unintended) effect of shedding light on the difference between mechanical activity and activity that brings personal, inner and spiritual benefit. Hopefully that will help us appreciate genuine ways of self expression all the more. I completely relate to your points about the exercise of self expression being a vital method for clarifying and honing our thinking. Writing definitely plays that role for me. I am not completely sure what I want to say until I have written it! And finally, being a Buddhist practitioner, I am very interested in the relationship between truths and experience beyond words and the use of words to communicate. I believe that both have their place and if we are careful and sensitive in the way we use our words, we need not break the magic thread.
What you say resonates with me strongly, Dominique. The "magic thread" you mention is a great metaphor. And I agree that if we attend to our experience with care, we don't have to break that connection between words and what lies beyond them.
The alchemical aspect of art is vital to its transmission. I write/talk about it in relation to music all the time. Thank you.
Thank you, my friend.