Loving the Words
Years ago I dropped in on a writers’ workshop on the same day that a young man had just joined the group. He read to us in that vibraty voice, that we all know and love when we have to speak in public. At least that’s what usually happens to me and it’s uncontrollable and very uncomfortable. He read to us wrapped up in his trepidation and then looked up hopefully for feedback. There was some conversation around the round wooden table about meter and rhythm and other technical points. When the conversation got to me, I remember telling him to love the words. Just love the words.
To be blown away by a ravishing phrase is to transcend our very mortal, very vulnerable selves. Who would not want to dive into the multicolored, astonishingly diverse world of words that is available to anyone at any moment?
The young writer probably resented me a bit that afternoon. But I hope I goaded him into ever widening leaps of the imagination.