"I must write. If I stop writing, my life would be an abject failure. It is that already to other people. But it could be an abject failure to myself for I would not have earned death" - Jean Rhys
In her novel from which the title of this piece and the above quote come, Jean Rhys chronicles the descent of her protagonist from a place and identity full of life and colour to one in which she inhabits the grey shadows on the periphery of life. Semi-autobiographical, the book speaks of a loss of self, of living to survive, of being alone and in the last 13 months of my life; it has become as familiar to me as the lines on the palm of my hand.
Writers live to experience and celebrate it by sharing their stories. What then of the writer whose desire to experience is lost in the myopia of existence, trapped in circumstance and chance?
The words dry up.
5 comments:
I hear that, and know the scenario oh too well...
Hang in there babe ... words on the way, even if I have to hog tie them and march them to you myself :)
Much love!
You can either ask a complete stranger to give you a hard clout and see if the juices start flowing again......or you can find yourself in the pews of a church on Sunday morning and see what story/message GOD has for you. Personally I would choose option 2.
CT
If I don't write, I panic. I become anxious, scared.
I must do all kinds of writing, silly, self-mocking, painting pictures with words. The scary stuff I save for my private pages, hand-written, to clear my head.
Grab pieces of paper and start scribbling.
At times, I feel like that has happened to me!
At times, I feel like that too...
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