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Trilety Wade's avatar

Ah this statement "To create a space, an oasis from the commotion of reality where we can stop time and ponder and ruminate for a while, and discuss differing perspectives with curiosity instead of pomposity." is so true about your essays - you captured exactly how I feel when reading your essays, and thus are very self aware about your own writing. I always feel satisfied too - full and warm.

Also, love that you both brought up bread (flour water salt etc) and the "breath" as it reminds me of this essay i remember enjoying over a decade ago https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/37/smith.php - enjoy! And thank you. Oh also, I never considered myself an "essayist" until you put my first piece of writing under the "essays" category and i thought "cool, i write essays!"

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Worth Watson's avatar

I enjoyed the #6 footnote and truth be told, most of my most moving and impactful books do indeed have wonderful footnotes.

Question: I am not a writer, but I give a medium number of (non powerpoint) talks. In these talks, they start (the planning part) off as lifeless and dull, but once it reaches a critical mass, and a bit of emotion is kindled (perhaps "the time in the bread") the talk will literally/magically write itself. Many times I will have to trim it back for time constraints. As a writer, do you feel the same way, where the essay writes itself? When you have the breath suddenly in you and your job is to orderly exhale in an understandable fashion.?. I wonder too if storytellers and poets have this same path. Congrats on #100!

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