As a writer of books, I am frequently asked to delve a little deeper into the psyche and spirit of being a scribe instead of employing a common charming brevity in that regard when asked to speak at my book signings. I must admit it took some discomfort to step out of the shallow end of brief literary appeasements to enhance book sales by and actually dare to express myself in more depth and detail of what it is to be a writer and an artist overall both personally and historically and I can only hope I hit the mark with you. So without further ado…
When a writer writes it is not simply to pen a narrative or poem but rather wrestling with life itself. It is to answer the individual why and wherefore one is here. It is to validate being worthy of the calling that writing and becoming a scribe is. The masters and gurus of the written word reveal their emergence in this splendid and evocative craft as a badge of honour and courage they had to defend with every new word and chapter and volume writ. To strive with each new effort to exceed and excel the one before and to reach for excellence in all. So when you read a story or verse that is the fruit of such a dedicated soul, such an accomplished artist in the medium, you are not simply perusing words on paper or in a book but rather visiting a glance into the life of that life; the very essence of that soul in flesh and bone and craft. In deed a reflection of all the vitality he or she was once possessed of by virtue of the passions for the subjects and creations conveyed.
To truly savour the experience of reading a book or tale you must take your time with it as one would with a vintage wine or brandy. Read and re-read any line and composition that is unclear at first until it becomes crystallized and intimate in your own understanding of it. Realize that, upon reading, you are inside the mind and heart and thoughts of the one who wrote those words and imbued them with their meaning and their reach. You are more intimate than any lover ever was as they were all found wanting of a deeper knowledge that only solitude could bring. You hold and witness the very sacred thoughts and creations and imaginings the author took solace and refuge in. Every look of preoccupation ever yielded another, every gaze and distraction once interrupted, every solitude pursued and privacy sought for long hours and days and nights entwined and entangled in the creative process is in the gift of expression you hold within your grasp. Drink it in and let it reveal you to yourself by all it stirs and evokes in you, no matter the genre. Go to places you have never been and consider thoughts and motivations and cultures that are not your own. Identify in ways you never thought you could by expanding your imagination and broadening your horizons as a mental traveller. This will cause you to find an ever evolving sense of self that validates even more of you to yourself in ponderous and meditative ways few other experiences could provide such leisure for. This is the why and wherefore every writer writes and, having writ, moves on.
In that same spirit of writers and the written word…I give you mine. Cheers!
Claudio Oswald Niedworok©
www.ClaudioArts.com