…when the alchemy of Habit has transformed the individual capable of suffering into a stranger for whom the motives of that suffering are in idle talk, when not only the objects of his affection have vanished, but also that affection itself; and he thinks how absurd is our dream of a Paradise with retention of personality, since our life is a succession of Paradises successively denied, that the only true Paradise is the Paradise that has been lost, and that death will cure many of the desire for immortality.(25-26 Beckett’s Proust)
Samuel Beckett contemplates Habit and Time and Memory as he delves into the writerly mind of Proust. The one hiccup to reading this lit-crit – thousands upon thousands of pages need to be read before this reader can agree/disagree with his analogy.
This was to be a completely different blog post two hours ago. It was to open with a memory of a dream. A dream that should have been written down upon waking instead of an internal dialogue, statement, this Will be remembered…(it was not)
a mountain, a cavern, an avalanche of snow or was it a flood…there was a lunch out on a veranda which held black iron furniture and plates of overflowing pasta. the umbrellas were an earthy orange — not bright, heavy with umber or a mustard, ochre — i have no idea why or what or where. there was something about a twig or a tree branch and then my brother appeared or was he there the whole time. we headed to an apartment decorated with college brands we both disliked. three people too old to be students lived there – they made no bones about wanting me to be gone; he apologized for me and moved quickly to repair whatever it was they needed. there is a station wagon; a dog; a curvy road; a key…
Things have been left out, voluntarily and involuntarily, Proust would have something to say about that type of truth, ‘ad nauseum’ according to Beckett, for that is what Proust’s monumental meta is all about. I don’t know, ask me next year.
Today, there shall be no truth. Well, it is laced between the trees- when you avert your eyes, narrow your gaze so that the sunset glints off your neighbor’s window reflecting an image that intrigues; who is that person slightly askew in black drab, a hat – why, it Is.
No, no revelation of biblical nature, for as stated above, a realization that one too many whom walk beyond this technological sphere may read this… should a relative be privy to what the masses can know. You, dear reader, are allowed as Derrida, Proust, Beckett, etc. know, albeit the known, the one who may see your bleary eyed gaze tomorrow must be kept deluded, one man’s Paradise is certainly not privy to another. One Must keep a bit of sanctity of mind, or is it face?
It makes me think of another work being read rather blindly, for the commentary regards Derrida, especially his book Post Card. David Wills’s Matchbook is rather brilliant, even if above most this head starting at the chin. What has got me, though, is his essay three, “Matchbook” which has me concluding that Derrida Wants you to burn after reading, “Envois” that is. Will it actually deconstruct, this destruction? Not from what I understand, for the problem resides in the subject/object framed in conceit of text of love.
Do you ever wonder if those that like your post read all the way to the end? Does anyone ever test it? Dare – write something so salacious that if there is only a ‘like’ then you may be safe to contend that content below the fold is Not being read.
Perhaps this is a reflection of how we move through life in our smartphone world. With half an eye on content with a conceit to agree in order to not admit we were not really paying attention. Our congress could take a tip or two on being agreeable from these boards. We just wish to champion the one who has taken the time no matter the content. We are living our Habit, our Time is ticking too, after all, ergo do we not know what they speak. Your reality is my reality, no?
Speaking of, will leave you with this…ironically, the Wills book held a postcard as bookmark. I started the book a year ago, not really knowing about the “Post Card” discussion – I just collect them from art museums and then use as place holders. Oddly, at the right angle, but not really a right angle, out of the corner of my eye, the sunflower actually becomes a portrait of Van Gogh painted over. (the photo’s glare and position do not offer the right perception — you would need to turn your monitor, cock your head to the left and look down at an angle – the brown spot becomes and eye/nose area — sigh, hard to recreate this Perception, really ~)
Perception- we perceive what we want to see or do we ~
peculiaritiesandreticences
/ 2013/01/04And yes, I always read to the bottom, unless I am not interested, in which case I won’t “like.” What a rich dream! Possibly plenty of symbolism to mine right there. And I do love the sunflower/Van Gogh “hijack.”
peculiaritiesandreticences
/ 2013/01/04I do disagree, however, that your erality is my reality. Quite the opposite. In fact, I proved to my new (and very young) intern today there *was* no reality beyond our own heuristic construction of it. She gave me a look like she was wondering that the hell she had got herself into!
angela
/ 2013/01/05Knowing your line of work, she is wise to be wondering! Glad you caught the “hijack”, very perceptive. ~ a
peculiaritiesandreticences
/ 2013/01/06I thought it was very clever of you. I really enjoyed it.
Mark Kerstetter
/ 2013/01/05I’ll “like” this part: “one man’s Paradise is certainly not privy to another” -I think that’s true.
‘Proust’ is one of the few things by Beckett I haven’t read. But I like the word “many” in the quote you’ve shared. “death will cure many of the desire for immortality” – By itself, I think that’s funny. But next to your statement it takes on a deeper meaning.
Amazingly, I’ve read a book by David Wills called ‘Prosthesis’; it’s quite fascinating (never thought I’d come across a mention of Wills, so this is a pleasant surprise). Each essay is a weird self-referential experiment in the relation of form to content. One might ask: can we really communicate what we perceive?
angela
/ 2013/01/05Mark, have you read Proust? It is odd to be reading about Proust’s masterpiece without actually having read. (Swann is the only volume I own right now).
Quite impressed with your ‘Beckett list’ (sorry, couldn’t resist) — have you read Disjecta? (it was the other Beckett purchase at a fave used book shop)
Crazy about Wills! He mentions Prosthesis in “Matchbook”. I am now determined to read Derrida’s “Post Card” I am quite taken with Will’s commentary. Are you a Derrida reader? Seems Wills has translated at least three of his works – one on Death I’d like to read as well.
I owe your blog a visit. It is my weekend to work, so a bit brain dead – if you are being quite intellectual I will comment during a more cerebral state! ~ a
(btw, you ever listened to this guy? Read about him in a blurb on Goodreads, googled found his WP and gave it a listen…rather cool. http://richardskelton.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/verse-of-birds-2nd-ed/)
Mark Kerstetter
/ 2013/01/06I’ve read chunks of Proust – just a fraction of the whole, but really like it. I’ve read some of the pieces in ‘Disjecta’, not all of it. And, yes, I’ve read a lot of Derrida, but not ‘Post Card’. I found that one particularly difficult. He’s one of those writers I used to love to hate, but, in truth, I’ve enjoyed some of his stuff, particularly ‘Dissemination’ (title essay) and ‘Of Grammatology’. Thanks for the link to Richard Skelton; he looks and sounds interesting.
Oh, and I haven’t been posting much. Just visit when you feel like it. I still think it’s cool that you’re reading Wills. I had the feeling he wasn’t well known. I got ‘Prosthesis’ a few years back from a remainders catalogue. Very glad I did (hardback, really nice cloth cover). If you can find an affordable used copy I’d recommend it. It might not be the most mind-blowing thing you’ve seen, but it’s unique. I love the idea of this kind of leftover “prosthetic” thing attached to any text regardless of how “pure” or beautiful or well written it is.
peculiaritiesandreticences
/ 2013/01/06Thanks for the prompt!
http://peculiaritiesandreticences.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/hijacking-reality/
Rivenrod
/ 2013/01/09I began a blog because I was bored, bored with insincerity and downright arrogant shallowness in the real world. All my life I have DONE things and it seemed to me, at the time, that I was being judged by people who simply existed as human BEINGS. So I turned to the ultimate platform for insincerity and devious perversion. A machine designed to be hidden behind whilst spouting off the cuff, random and often hurtful judgement. Yup, “that’s for me”, I thought, “in for a penny”.
The thing is, since I’ve been here in LaLaLand I’ve developed a nose for cutting through the crap and have discovered some truly amazing people. People with the most brilliant, creative minds: People, some of whom, became as disillusioned with the so called “real” world as I have and who, like me, are vulnerable (for whatever reasons) and looked for some kind of approval rating from complete strangers in cyberland than whimsical acquaintances in the “real” world.
The thing is, Cyberland is real, at least as real as the “real” world. It’s just different, more provoking somehow.
So, I understand your skepticism that people may not read further than the headline before “Liking” (Yeuk!) after all there are so many followers and followees. How to cope with them all when there are thousands and thousands? It would be a thankless full time job to keep up with all the correspondence! For myself I would rather have a handful of good, honest, interesting, vital and intelligent people looking in on my blog from time to time – and commenting in a good or bad way, whatever (it’s a learning, growing thing isn’t it?) – than thousands of slap-happy “Like” clickers.
You, I like. You’re funny in a smart/casual sort of a way, you’re also attractive in the sense that I want to know more about you (which is why I visit your blog and read what you have to say). You’re tough, honest and vulnerable. In short a beautiful person who I am not too shy to approach and have a chat with.
Psst. I’m trying to figure out how I can change the “Like” button on my blog to a “Yeuk!” button. An anti-Like if you like . . . any ideas?
angela
/ 2013/01/11RR ~ you have bestowed quite a compliment that i do not feel quite worthy, thank you. “Yeuk!” made me smile — perhaps you should start harassing WP peeps to create this option. I apologize for this very short reply, but it is rather late and I must sleep. Your thoughts, though dear WP friend, are ones that I could have written myself for there is no desire for a crowd, just a small gathering at this cafe where we can pretend we are of the day of European salons where it was the fashion to be misunderstood and odd – normal thinking was passe and a sheep was sooner sent over a cliff than welcomed to the fire circle… if that makes any sense at all. Cheers! ~ a
Rivenrod
/ 2013/01/11. . . total sense.
RR
Rivenrod
/ 2013/01/11By your mention of cafes, inadvertently you have answered a dilemma of mine . . . I shall now definitely go to Stockholm in the spring . . .