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Saturday, October 04, 2008

Letting Go (part two)

As a follow up to my initial "Letting Go" post, I've continued to contemplate the Andre Malraux quotation about what profound art requires. Revisiting the whole idea of abandonment of the control of certain powers (pertaining to art) when writing, I'm reminded of a common topic of discussion which often centers around poetry of the Beat era. There has been a school of through that many of the beat writers relied heavily upon their initial written inspiration. That a higher value seemed to be placed upon the minds first reflections and some writers were hesitant to mess much with original words committed to paper.

I cannot subscribe to the idea that such writing is never enhanced by revision, but I will agree that a mind that allows a truly uninhibited freedom to explore is a desirable foundation from which to begin any poetry.

The Spanish Poet Federico García Lora championed the idea that great art depended upon a vivid awareness of death,  and an acknowledgment of the limitations of reason. Certainly one can draw distinct comparison between what Lora espoused and the later argument made by Andre Malraux and quoted in part one of this blog post.

I'm wanting to to find that unfettered awareness that sometimes can be hidden beneath the surface.  I want to write without self censorship and then; I want to be able to work to shape this rough language into the best work while retaining the strength and power of what originally came to me.

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