tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30555458.post7707984810941383415..comments2023-12-30T02:08:05.875-05:00Comments on Adamus at Large: Progeria: An ExerciseAdam Byrn "Adamus" Tritthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03146942018135434361noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30555458.post-2702502945101442892007-09-16T19:09:00.000-04:002007-09-16T19:09:00.000-04:00Like Jennie, I too am somewhat insulated from the ...Like Jennie, I too am somewhat insulated from the screaming barrage of pop culture, having chosen televisionlessness these six years now. It may be an unfortunate reality that this essay would fall flat to eyes accustomed to daily horrific images and the mindless, voyeuristic chatter which accompanies them. However, I like to retain my faith in the power of the written word, optimistic fool though I may be. And I happen to find quite a lot of understated power later in the essay, beyond the initial shock of the sight of the child, in the quiet conclusion to that experience: "The records were lost. Markers disappeared. Officially, I never found the house."<BR/><BR/>Score one for compassion, hope and decent humanity. Pop culture dropped that ball a long time ago.TapWitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07193894328048754280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30555458.post-35584365119907003352007-09-10T16:24:00.000-04:002007-09-10T16:24:00.000-04:00(From Jennie) "I know that it is not as powerful a...(From Jennie) "I know that it is not as powerful as it has the potential to be..."<BR/><BR/>To be sure, this is true, I feel, about everything I have written. Regardless of quality, each time I look at any work I have completed, I can still find a word that needs to be excised, one more thing that needs posed as a discovery as opposed to a description, one more missign thought or one added chance for the reader to feel closer to how I wish for him or her to feel. <BR/><BR/>Of course, we are dealing with me. That means we are dealing with a perfectionist who is sure he can't really do anything very well, but demands perfection of himself regadless. Thus, making each thing done, at best, an exercise in frustration. <BR/><BR/>I hope it does, indeed, smell of oil. By the time I am done with it, it should drip of oil. Right now, I suspect it smells rather strongly. It is my hope that scent is lamp oil.Adam Byrn "Adamus" Tritthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03146942018135434361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30555458.post-73889651542839191182007-09-09T12:04:00.000-04:002007-09-09T12:04:00.000-04:00I certainly agree with Jennie's statement that "ra...I certainly agree with Jennie's statement that "rather than say nothing because I couldn't say what I wanted perfectly, I thought it best to say something, even if it was incomplete." Or rather, I'm learning that that's the best approach, even if my instinct is to worry over something and edit it to death because I'm not satisfied with it. <BR/><BR/>There's a wonderful Latin phrase, "Olet lucernam," which means, "It smells of the oil lamp." In other words, I have learned that one can do so much work on something that it finally betrays the long hours I spent working on it.<BR/><BR/>In the case of your essay, I'm thinking it's much, much better to have the essay out there rather than putting it away because pop culture may have lessened the power of "the big reveal" just a bit.Sewa Yolemehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05736250662604561083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30555458.post-23534043597233364412007-09-08T13:45:00.000-04:002007-09-08T13:45:00.000-04:00I am, perhaps, not the best person to answer these...I am, perhaps, not the best person to answer these questions, as I don't even watch T.V. anymore, and so am blessedly insulated from much of "Pop Culture". With that in mind, popular culture hasn't lessened the effectiveness of the experiential essay - for me.<BR/><BR/>That said, I am familiar with progeria, and, from the title of your exercise, already knew what was coming. I can't say what my response would have been had I had no knowledge of the word at the outset, but even though I knew of the disease and its manifestation, I still found much of the writing to be effective as a description of the experience of unexpectedly encountering such a child.<BR/><BR/>The sense that I get from the essay as a whole is the feeling of the shock of telescoped mortality, of that sudden simultaneous clarity and feeling of unreality that comes with the recognition that time is shorter for all of us than we think. This is, for me, anyway, the common thread that connects the experiences detailed here. <BR/><BR/>As to how to make it more effective, I'm not sure. I know that it is not as powerful as it has the potential to be, but I haven't had time to sit with it long enough to parse out exactly what works and what doesn't, let alone why it works or doesn't. But rather than say nothing because I couldn't say what I wanted perfectly, I thought it best to say something, even if it was incomplete.<BR/><BR/>If more specific feedback conmes to me, I'll write more later.Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589550267781293462noreply@blogger.com