The Art of Reading

A Personal Account of an Ongoing Relationship With Words

I've always been fond of dictionaries for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, one Christmas, I asked a relative for a dictionary as my holiday present. It was a Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, an edition in hard cover with red cloth.

Words have a life and a history, and just as with people their best attributes can be hidden in nuance. Writers, whose stock-in-trade is words, recognize the importance of giving words their full due. The best writers can make reading a satisfying, delightful and an almost delicious experience, all because of words.

The high school I attended assigned Victorian Era books like Oliver Twist. This was thrown in among other more readable books or what I then considered more “normal” fare. At the time, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter seemed to me like an excellent choice to kill a young person’s interest in reading and literature.

Some years ago, at a cocktail party, I ran into someone who, as it turned out, was a high school English teacher. Our conversation led me to wonder out loud the point of assigning The Scarlet Letter to teenagers who don’t have the vocabulary to understand, let alone appreciate, the work. Her reply was something to the effect that the students understood the issues raised by the book and showed great interest in discussing them.

I simply nodded in agreement and left the conversation there. When I was in high school, it was only because of the book’s Monarch Notes, I was able to pick up—nothing distinct mind you, just—faint hints and clues as to what the book was about and the important questions it supposedly addressed.

I’ve now read The Scarlet Letter three times and I’ve formed a deep appreciation for its literary merit. I am also more convinced than ever that assigning it to the average high school freshman class is a disservice to the students.

At some point in college, I decided I wouldn’t let a single word pass me by if I didn’t have a ready definition for it on the tip of my tongue. This is a different standard than having a vague idea what a word means. For a period of what may have been two years, I carried a Little Oxford English Dictionary with me everywhere I went. It had a hard cover and was smaller than an average paperback. It contained the great majority of the words I looked up.

I was looking up words all the time. It’s a wonder I ever finished reading anything. Eventually, looking up so many words must have had some positive effect because I stopped relying on my Little Oxford. It was sometime after this, I had occasion to visit one of my university professors in his office. I was working on a paper and we needed to discuss its progress.

As I remember now, years later, it was a decent-sized office. The only other thing I remember about it is that in the office, up on a stand—or maybe it was an improvised lectern—sat a huge unabridged dictionary. It is the kind of dictionary you only see in the reference section of libraries, always opened somewhere in the middle as if a book like that isn’t meant to remain closed. It is the kind of book that has perhaps a four inch spine and if you had to venture a guess, you might say it easily weighs between 15 and 20 pounds.

Later on, after leaving the professor’s office—and the impression of the over-sized dictionary having settled in—I remember thinking to myself, “So this is how the pros do it.”

I have never owned an unabridged dictionary but I can certainly appreciate its value. I have never lost my fondness for words and their meaning. The habit of constantly looking up words still haunts me and to this day it slows me down when I read.

Ereaders have brought the art of reading to the information age. Today, the definition of 99 percent of all words is only one touch away when we read. You don’t need to lug around a Little Oxford and the Oxford English Dictionary is no longer published in printed editions.

Painting: Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954)

Do you have a special relationship to books, words and reading?

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Vincent Van Gogh was not only a great artist, he was also an accomplished writer. We know this because of the many letters he wrote to family and friends. Some writers of significant renown say his writings qualify as literature.

I recently read a blog post, The Beauty of Handwritten Letters by Guilie Castillo and it inspired me to write this piece.

Once Upon a Time
Anyone who has posted or received a scented, handwritten letter knows the joy that such a missive can carry. Today, there are so many ways to stay in touch—and they’re so much more efficient and immediate—it isn’t fashionable to write a personal letter any more. What’s the point of writing a letter when its contents won’t be read for a week or more?

Letter writing is a lost art. Once upon a time, letters were the most efficient method for individuals to stay in touch over a long distance. Nowadays, letters are used primarily for formal communications associated with a business purpose. The immediacy of mobile phones, email and text messaging have relegated letter writing to the status of a quaint and frivolous exercise.

Art Is a Painstaking Enterprise
Preparing a personal, handwritten letter requires the writer to put her heart into the task. The letter writer also needs time to choose her words carefully and to fashion her thoughts with deliberation.

All art is a painstaking enterprise and writing a letter is no different. Letter writers of bygone eras did not have the luxury of spell-checking software and couldn’t easily go back to rephrase sentences. They certainly had the option of preparing a first draft if they were so inclined, but all last minute corrections showed on the page.

What some might consider insignificant details like the choice of stationery, the writing implement used and the writer’s penmanship are all an inherent part of what makes a letter special. Because of its relative permanence as a tangible object, the final piece is literally a work of art.

The Contents of a Letter
The very essence of a letter limits it to conveying written information. But, very often, a personal letter serves purposes other than communicating essential pieces of information.

A typical letter starts off with the dateline (like a news article) and the salutation. If appropriate, at the outset, you make reference to prior correspondence and acknowledge its receipt. Aside from these basics, the contents of a letter are limited only by the writer's imagination.

A letter is also a way for the writer and the recipient to affirm their relationship and reinforce the bond they share. To this day, the salutation (dear) and the closing (very truly yours) reflect this erstwhile function. Love letters are a specialized form of this type of written interaction. If the writer is so inclined, the parchment can be scented as a way to add a personal touch of intimacy and to highlight an ethereal presence.

An Inspiration for Creativity
The act of writing a letter might encourage the writer to mention pleasant memories and portray them in the best possible light. It can compel the writer to be imaginative so as to tell an interesting anecdote. Under particular circumstances, it can require the writer to be careful in framing a delicate situation.

As with all writing, composing a letter requires the writer to narrow his focus and organize his thoughts. Today, we share more information with more people than ever, but it’s mostly in bits and pieces. Many of the stories and sentiments we share online are reduced to a few sentences on social media websites with the benefit of digital photo albums.

A Sense of Mystery
At best, a posted letter can take a few days to reach its recipient and, depending on the destination, can take several weeks to arrive. The recipient, very often, doesn't know for sure a letter is on its way or when one will arrive. The physical distance that a letter has to travel and the lapse of time until its delivery gives each letter its own aura of mystery.

It could very well be that when the letter arrives, and is read, some of the circumstances it describes have changed or that perhaps—because of the change in circumstances—an argument that it convincingly lays out is now invalid or has become irrelevant.

Have you ever had occasion to write a personal, handwritten letter?

Painting: Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait

The Power of Intention

A caterpillar can fall into a deep sleep, undergo a metamorphosis, and wake up as the butterfly it was meant to be. You and I don't have that luxury. We are, however, blessed with the ability to dream of, and aspire to, great accomplishments. But dreams and aspirations alone are weak forces. We need more to help us manifest our full potential. We need a strong force.

Intention Equals Possibilities. In his book, The Power of Intention, Wayne Dyer tells us there is a universal source of energy that is always available, which can take us to the realm of infinite possibilities. Our infinite capacity to learn, create, discover, and build is available to us through the power of intention.

Unlike the caterpillar that does not have a creative spirit, we have at our disposal a formidable force. We tend to take it for granted and underestimate what it can do.

The smallest act begins with an intention. Your decision to wear blue stockings, to sleep in on Sundays, to write a blog post, each begins with an intention. Just as we use the power of intention for small and insignificant decisions, we can also use it for worthy and significant objectives.

A guiding intention can take you far even if the original dream that inspires it doesn’t come to fruition. Whenever naysayers tell me what I can and can’t do, I remember the story of Christopher Columbus. He started out with the dream of finding a shortcut from Europe to India.

Columbus misjudged the circumference of the Earth by several orders of magnitude. Instead of finding a shortcut, he ended up discovering a new world. Today, Columbus is a hero with his own day marked on the calendar. The huge mistake goes largely unnoticed.

How to Harness the Power of Intention 

• Choose a course of action
• Set a goal
• Own the challenge

Listen to what President John F. Kennedy had to say about choosing a course of action, setting a goal, and accepting the challenge.

35 years after we flew across the Atlantic.*

We choose this goal, that challenge, these things, • not because they are easy, but because they are hard, • because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, • because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

— John F. Kennedy, We Choose to Go to the Moon  

* When we landed on the moon, all of NASA's computing power was less than that of a modern smartphone. Pocket-sized calculators became available a few years later.

Glossary
• Metamorphosis: a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism
• Intention: a determination to act in a certain way; what one intends to do or bring about
• Affirmation: confirmation of the truth or validity of a prior judgment

Have you Got an Idea?

Not so long ago when someone wanted to send a message, they hired a messenger. The messenger got on a horse and delivered the message personally. The message was on paper, parchment, a clay tablet, or whatever physical medium was prevalent at the time.

This whole process seems wasteful now, but that’s because you and I are sitting comfortably at the dawn of the electronic age. The thing is: messages are ideas. Physical things like ink, paper and horses have little or nothing to do with ideas. These physical things are just carriers for ideas. But in reality, the ideas are paperless, horseless and messengerless.

The neat thing about computers is that they manipulate ideas efficiently. A computer network carries nothing but the ideas. They do this with no muss, no fuss, and no extra physical baggage.

When you start dealing efficiently with ideas, very nice things can happen. Suddenly, all the overhead is gone. Instead of pushing paper and trees, you’re pushing numbers and concepts. Without the overhead, you can do more, faster, and accomplish things that are much more complex than ever before.

Inspired by Barry Burd, Java for Dummies, 4th Edition

Painting: Henri Matisse, L’Odalisque - Harmonie Bleu (1937)

Publishing In The Golden Age of Competition

There are numerous parts to the debate currently swirling in the publishing industry.  One part is the question of the value traditional publishers provide to established authors. Another part of the debate is whether new authors can bypass legacy publishing on their way to success. Some suggest that this is the dawn of a new and golden age for writers. Others argue that things won’t change much after the dust settles. The best way to become a successful author will remain the first contract signed with a traditional  publisher.

The familiar tends to give us the false impression of stability and permanence. History reminds us that it is easy to underestimate the power of new technology. Western Union turned down an offer to purchase Bell’s telephone patent because telegraph communications were more efficient and reliable. The telephone patent, today, is widely regarded as the most valuable patent ever registered.

Some believe that the large publishing houses have been caught in a draft, will survive almost intact and will continue to enjoy their monopoly and influence. The current flux is similar to catching a cold, a temporary disruption from which they will eventually recover. One of the arguments to support this point is that publishers have hard drives upon hard drives filled with mid-list titles that soon will be published as ebooks. This large back catalog will flood the market and will effectively kill whatever challenge to their hegemony was posed by the advent of e-publishing. The likes of Amanda Hocking and John Locke will prove to be historical aberrations. Writers who are not established will have to compete with this huge backlist of “new” releases.

Some who believe in the value of legacy publishing don’t have convincing arguments but are really hoping that the status quo remains and the publishers maintain their market dominance. Their position comes from a vested interest in the order of things or out of respect for the proper order of things. Legacy publishers, after all, have played an important role in society for the past five centuries.

This article argues that legacy publishers are part of an industry that is forever changed. The biggest competitive advantages they previously enjoyed have lost much of their value. The infrastructure that specialized in printing and distributing books is becoming superfluous. Talented, creative and knowledgeable writers will greatly benefit from these changes.

Consider these propositions:

• Legacy publishing specializes in servicing mass markets.
• Technology enables readers to find what they like.
• The market for books will grow.
• Technology empowers writers to create niche markets.
• Specialized knowledge, talent and creativity are the trump cards of writers.

Legacy Publishers Cater to Large Stagnant Markets.
Before a legacy publisher agrees to publish a book, they need to feel secure about which readers will read it. Their universe of readers is artificially defined by genres and types of books. They are forced to serve large, well-defined market segments. This is due to the limitations of their business model which is based on wide-scale distribution. The feedback loop between the market and the publishers is necessarily slow and cumbersome. Accurate information on what the market cares about and would like to read is not readily available. Many tastes are ignored for lack of information or want of market size. This legacy system stifles creativity because the prudent course is for publishers to minimize the risk of bad investments. When you enjoy what amounts to monopoly or cartel status, there is no incentive to develop niche markets. Publishers do not have strong incentives to experiment with anything outside of what they believe to be the tried and true. On the contrary, recent competition from independent publishers made them more conservative.

Technology Empowers Readers to Find What They Like.
Publishers are forced to acknowledge the ascendancy of ereaders or face their peril. Consumers are the beneficiaries of technological innovations that give them more choices than ever before. Search and recommendation algorithms for books will continue to improve. Search technology is a recent development that came after the widespread adoption of the Internet. As recently as the 1990’s, the most helpful algorithm for finding a book was the Dewey decimal classification system. For the most part, you also had to be physically present at a library or a book store. Choice was very limited and the publishers had tremendous power because they decided what to print and therefore what was available for people to read.

The Market for Books Will Expand
As ereaders and the number of ebooks proliferate, the population of avid and regular readers will increase.  Ereaders and tablets attract new readers and they make existing readers more voracious in their reading habits. In large part, this is because readers have more choices and have quick access to what they like to read. Finally, ereaders are a form of storage for portable libraries that reside on the devices. In a society that values literacy, there is no downside to everyone owning a portable library. Young children should have one suitable for their age as soon as they learn to read.

Authors Are Creating Niche Markets. The old paradigm of competition in publishing assumes that markets are already defined and tend to remain static. The business model of the legacy publishers relied on this paradigm and it proved successful.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a few leading authors who are standouts in a particular genre are “the competition” for new authors. Their books are prominently displayed in the remaining bookstores and are reviewed and critiqued by respected voices. But this type of thinking misses the point. In the information age, new authors don’t have to compete with established authors for the same readers. Social media tools allow unknown writers to jump into the fray and carve up new niches that previously didn’t exist. There is no killer tool, but rather a large and growing number of media platforms. Writers can use podcasts, videos, blogs, facebook and twitter to test and create their brand and build a rapport with an audience. The old metaphor of a pizza pie limited to eight slices is stale and no longer accurately represents the market for books.

Amanda Hocking wasn't "competing" with any established authors when she released her first book.  An apt metaphor that explains the strategy of creating a niche market is staking claim to a plot of ground and cultivating it into a garden. It’s easy to give a few examples. A writer can cater to an audience that is primarily interested in contemporary urban short stories or romance novels set in medieval England. These potential markets won't care about and won't notice the coming flood of mid-list ebooks. Does anyone know the size of the market for science-fiction stories that focus on nano-technology?

A lucrative niche for an individual author doesn’t have to be large by conventional standards.

Writers and Readers are In Direct Communication.
Today's communication technologies empower authors as well as readers. Years ago, it was mostly a one way conversation with a reviewer telling the public the relative merits of a new book. This information was mostly limited to newspaper and magazine reviews that were of the utmost importance to a particular book or an individual author.

Today, by contrast, authors have a virtual arsenal of communication tools at their disposal and a geographic reach that is bounded only by language. If the author chooses, the conversation with his readers can be two-way, ongoing and dynamic. Author and audience can influence each other.


The Real Competition
The new competition is between forms of communication. On one level, it is the battle of the old way of communicating to mass markets versus the new way of communicating to niche markets. On one side are the anointed, respected voices who speak to the masses on behalf of legacy publishing and selected authors. On the other side are writers who are able to maintain a meaningful relationship with their audience. Each method has its benefits and unique advantages.


Talent, Creativity and Access to Markets
Every business school student knows that an entrepreneur can develop a soft-drink that tastes better than Coke (the real thing), and that the big challenge is to market and distribute this new product effectively. Technology allows writers to create and service niche markets based on their specialized knowledge, talents and creative disposition. The problem of access to markets and the challenge of physical distribution are both solved by digital technology. These previously served as a moat that protected the cartel of legacy publishing from competition.

A Glimpse of the Future
The changes in publishing began almost imperceptibly and recently have been gaining momentum. The tip of the iceberg is the small number of successful, name-brand authors who are starting to self-publish. Established authors will begin to evaluate their options in light of their audience size and the opportunities afforded by technological advancements. There is no doubt that the existing infrastructure of traditional publishing remains a valuable business asset. But as e-publishing matures and the economic ramifications play themselves out, the declining value of a publisher's services will become more pronounced. Authors will negotiate tougher deals (do I own ebook rights?), demand more services or walk away from contract offers.

Amazon is now handing out publishing contracts and its business specialty used to be that of a retailer of non-perishable items that could be shipped. Who else will want to finance authors? Google and Apple are in the ebook and ereader business and facebook recently purchased an ebook company.

The golden-age metaphor for writers has yet to prove itself. The mythology of legitimacy and authority inherent in being an indispensable institution for 500 years will continue as myths are wont to last long after the historical conditions that created them are only a memory. Economic realities, however, will continue to erode the already diminished cachet of traditional publishing.

_______________

See also: Steve Donoghue, Authors Take Control of the Publishing Process

The Dead Imago

He woke in a start. His heart raced. Had it been a dream or was this a nightmare that even daylight could not chase away? The first sign of where he was came by way of the assault on his sense of smell. A miasma of stale alcohol and tobacco odors hung about the chamber and made the air heavy and difficult to breathe. He felt nauseous.

What sort of life could he lead if the dark deed loomed over him everywhere he went? During the day, he felt he was being followed. It could be an agent of vengeance or retribution. It could be an agent of the law. Maybe it was both. At night, he was tormented by lurking images and crouching shadows.

He had meant no harm; events simply got out of hand. His only lacuna is a failure of decisiveness, but that's not a crime. He didn't know whether to oscitate or laugh out loud. If only he could do it over again. But wait, how absurd! He caught himself imagining a magical and serendipitous turn of events, or the unfolding of some felicitous synchronicity, as the most plausible resolution to his horrific plight.

Painting: Caravaggio (1571 - 1610), The Sacrifice of Isaac

This piece of fiction was inspired by the Writer's Campaign Second Flash Fiction Challenge:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title.
The post should:
* include the word "imago" in the title
* include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity"

On a Damp, Cold Morning

The door swung open and Tucker ventured out just before dawn. The previous night, he had imagined what the day would be like when he awoke, what the necessary preparations would be, what the battle would require and what the squad meeting would be like afterwards. All this had been replayed in his mind, at least a hundred times.

It was damp, cold and overcast. The hour's eerie silence was broken by a tremendous roll of thunder, and rounding out the conspiracy, as if on cue, Tucker heard the supply train. It would cut off his path and slow him down by several minutes. Tucker was captain; he took his responsibility seriously. He learned the importance of honor, courage and discipline from his father. The old man was a war veteran and had played football in college. Tucker looked up to him.

As he finally made it to the dull-colored concrete building, he ran into the person everybody affectionately called the Sergeant, or Sarge. He was twice Tucker's age. The Sergeant asked him:

"You ready son?"

Tucker met the Sergeant's glance and shook his head yes. They walked together into the shadowy chasm and the door swung shut.

Painting: George Clausen (1852 - 1944)

Inspiration provided by: The Writer's Platform-Building Campaign

Willpower Versus Taking a Coffee Break

You’ve been working for a long time, thoroughly focused on the task at hand, and you need a break. The thought of an aromatic cup of coffee comes naturally to mind. As it turns out, this type of break may not be a good one, especially if you plan to go back to work.

Our brains need rest, much like our muscles do, after sustained periods of use. Concentrating for a long time or working at a monotonous or repetitive task will induce fatigue. If you’ve edited a manuscript or studied for an exam recently, I’m sure you can relate.

Studies have looked into the activities that are best for resting and refreshing the brain so that it quickly returns to peak function. One of the best activities for taking a break is taking a walk in nature, the proverbial walk in the park. Enjoying the sight and sounds of nature is the most refreshing and perhaps the most effective way to take a break according to researchers. Taking a walk on a busy city street provides no cognitive boost. You read that right, none. Apparently, walking down a busy city street involves paying quite a bit of attention. Even being in a quiet room listening to the sounds of nature and viewing pictures is more helpful than a walk in a city street.

Drinking coffee does provide an energy boost, but it does not help us perform tasks better. In one study, those who had access to unlimited coffee during breaks ended up feeling stressed. Researchers also found that men working in group activities performed worse when they drank more coffee than usual. Coffee also exacerbates feelings of stress if you are already in a stressful situation.

Your level of performance can also be maintained if you find a creative way to motivate yourself. Individuals who believe they have an unlimited amount of willpower are able to work longer at focused tasks. Subjects in laboratory experiments who receive subtle suggestions that their stamina could be replenished performed for longer periods. Surprisingly, the level of performance remains high. Similar research is being conducted on whether, based on willpower, people can make lasting changes to their lives.

Adapted from Shirley S. Wang, "Coffee Break? Walk in the Park? Why Unwinding Is Hard," Wall Street Journal, August 30, 2011

Autumn Poet

By lonely roads
this lonely poet marches
into autumn dusk.

          * * *











Illustrated Basho Haikus 

The End of Books

The Edinburgh International Book Festival hosted a debate entitled, oddly enough, The End of Books. It was held on August 20, 2011. To address the irony of it all, David Petherick wrote an article discussing the impact of the digital revolution on the publishing industry. The article quotes novelist, Ewan Morrison at length arguing the side of the publishing industry and endorses the view that "writing, as a profession, will cease to exist."

At the outset, let's all agree that even if books are dying as a form of recording stories and disseminating information, it's because other formats are being embraced.

The publishing industry, in defense of its own importance, would have us believe that the democratization of the printing press is bad for authors and bad for the reading public. Imagine how the Catholic church must have felt when it realized that any monarch could translate and easily publish their own version of the bible.

Part of the problem with Morrison's analysis is that he doesn't acknowledge that disruptive technologies create both winners as well as losers. As he explains it, everybody loses. In the age of independent publishers and e-readers, established authors who formerly commanded large advances may not fare as well because they are forced to compete in an expanded marketplace. The large publishing houses that once enjoyed the status of cartels have to figure out new ways to add value when access to the printing press is now essentially free. The winners are the thousands of authors whose works are being read by an audience whose size is increasing.

Morrison also mischaracterizes writing as a "profession." Novelists, journalists and academics all write for a living and all belong to different professions. Each will be impacted differently as the digital revolution unfolds. I can't think of one profession that is exempt from the impact of advancing technology.

The article cites many examples to show that creative work, in the future, will be considered as having little or no value. Just look at the music industry; everybody is listening to music for free. The life of a creative artist has never been a secure path to a comfortable living. Yes, creative artists will have to embrace technology and continue to be creative. No one is exempt and there are no guarantees. The work of those who are outstanding at what they do has the best chance of being recognized and compensated. That's how it always was.

The article arrives at the bizarre conclusion that the digital revolution is killing progress. Books are dying and the digital revolution will force all professions to reinvent themselves, but that's a far cry from concluding this will have a negative impact on civilization when all is said and done.


See also: Gary Gauthier, Publishing in the Golden Age of Competition and Joe Konrath, The End is Nigh

For a different angle, see Charmaine Clancy, Phooey to the End of Books.