Lovely reflection back on the levels to appreciate these works. This strikes such a nice balance between the analyzing that can kill the effect of art, and insight for a deeper appreciation of the layered work in question (experiencing art and studying being interconnected of course, but the line between contemplation and intellectual examination that's well worth being aware of feels nicely noticed here).
Enjoying (among other things), Wendell Berry's firs Port William novel, "Jayber Crow"-- a thoughtful reflection on home and rootedness, individual identity and community, it's told as the memoir of an orphan who returns to his hometown and takes up the very communally-oriented position of barber. Have you read any of Berry's Port William books?
I am deeply gratified, Madeline, by your observation that the post strikes a balance between "the analyzing that can kill the effect of art" and the "study" of a work appropriate to the writer's development of his or her craft. Because that is just what I was after--or rather, I wanted to "study" Waugh's early style without getting too deeply into "analysis." For as I develop it I see The Comic Muse more and more as an opening up of my writer's notebook as I think through the technical problems of whatever piece of writing I am working on. I am not out to give a scholarly analysis of Waugh or anyone else--though this post shows that I am trying to learn from scholarly work on Waugh. In The Comic Muse I have my craftsman's hat on, not my professor's hat. Yet even the craftsman must study.
I have not read Wendell Berry's fiction, though more than one person has recommended it to me. Perhaps this summer I will get started!
Lovely reflection back on the levels to appreciate these works. This strikes such a nice balance between the analyzing that can kill the effect of art, and insight for a deeper appreciation of the layered work in question (experiencing art and studying being interconnected of course, but the line between contemplation and intellectual examination that's well worth being aware of feels nicely noticed here).
Enjoying (among other things), Wendell Berry's firs Port William novel, "Jayber Crow"-- a thoughtful reflection on home and rootedness, individual identity and community, it's told as the memoir of an orphan who returns to his hometown and takes up the very communally-oriented position of barber. Have you read any of Berry's Port William books?
I am deeply gratified, Madeline, by your observation that the post strikes a balance between "the analyzing that can kill the effect of art" and the "study" of a work appropriate to the writer's development of his or her craft. Because that is just what I was after--or rather, I wanted to "study" Waugh's early style without getting too deeply into "analysis." For as I develop it I see The Comic Muse more and more as an opening up of my writer's notebook as I think through the technical problems of whatever piece of writing I am working on. I am not out to give a scholarly analysis of Waugh or anyone else--though this post shows that I am trying to learn from scholarly work on Waugh. In The Comic Muse I have my craftsman's hat on, not my professor's hat. Yet even the craftsman must study.
I have not read Wendell Berry's fiction, though more than one person has recommended it to me. Perhaps this summer I will get started!
You got me with Dali, Dante, Brideshead Revisited, and the salvific value of suffering. Bravo!
Thanks so much, Roseanne! I’m glad my reflections hit home with you.