Planning to steal Mikhail’s thunder at our upcoming staff meeting this Wednesday, here I am/writing to open up the blog space for reflections on our symposium. Please contribute.
It was a good day, this past Friday. I think I most enjoyed its dynamic, happening quality, as if in defiance of the rain outside. And I did indeed get out of my academic bubble to look around a bit and see and hear what those non-academics think about writing. One of my favorite parts was the opening lecture, actually, Jeff Jarvis’ talk. (At the Players’ Club, Olga was telling me how much she enjoyed Peter Elbow’s talk because of its introspective quality, and I agreed with her. The upbeat, popping quality of the first speaker got me, however, and I think it was an excellent choice to start with in the morning.) At moments, I wondered at the striking American-ness of the entire speech, and I felt this with all my convoluted sense of belonging and Americanized brain. I liked the way the speaker opened up the creative act for necessary mistakes (“Everything is miscellaneous”), inherent flair (“elegant organization”), and I loved the little spiritual tag that came with the package (“Make mistakes well, and don’t be evil”). Peter Elbow, on the other hand, wanted to celebrate “the glory of writing” and that inward turn that it brings, and I was nodding big time then too.
What about you, my fellow audience-members? Image may be NSFW.
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