Flourish in the Not-Knowing
Don Barthelme So it's 2013. Resolutions? Yup. Some. There's the health (more exercise, less booze), family (talk to them), environment (spend some time in it) and the writing (finish the damn collection). Then there's all the in-between stuff, the nit and grit, breaking things down into itty bitty bits so I get things done. It's the only way I know. And then there's the not knowing ... Heading out of 2012 and into 2013 I've been obsessed with the writing of Donald Barthelme. Currently reading his 60 stories and Not Knowing - the Essays and Interviews . He has this to say, and I've copied it out and stuck it on my door: 'The not-knowing is crucial to art, is what permits art to be made.' and this: 'Writing is a process of dealing with not-knowing, a forcing of what and how.' and then: 'The anxiety attached to this situation is not inconsiderable.' Barthelme makes me laugh, and humour can be a rare thing in the serious ...