The meta is so cool (yeah Woolf!). Really interesting to hear your process and the concept. And woah - these images:
“The tunnel beast exhales its sharp caustic vapors and a dimple forked tongue penetrates the open spaces between shirt buttons, through form fitting undershirts, through sports coats and open blouses, through tank tops, tickling the blonde hairs clustered around nipples and thick dark strands under arms. “
It felt like this ride where the words were already there and they emerge from your pen/fingers. Because the image is so strange but also so smooth at the same time.
The DKW, glad you keyed on the imagery. It was the part of the writing that was weird to me, taking such a surreal portrayal of just a basic moment to bring anxiety and tension to just one simple step. And yup, meta, too much time studying post modernists (or maybe the modernists like Pirandello breaking the fourth wall in “Six Characters…”) not identify with a character in a story that knows he/she/they is/are being watched. Thanks as always!
“The air is all stagnant, congested with stench and vibration; and it lingers-not like the smell of some velvety treat. Thick small flecks of dust and mortar continuously crumble beneath the footsteps of the surface dwellers scattering from the work-a-day world.”
Really enjoyed reading this Brian. In these two sentences you make it sound like a dark underground lair with the people above unaware of what goes on below their feet, and yet the smell of the velvety treat wants to pull us back to the surface for more and, possibly, ultimately escape
“How often does caution triumph over authenticity? Not just in the exercise of writing but in the exercise of navigating the hard, paved streets of living.”
For me, this is also an everyday battle and one that I’m not sure I’m winning 🤔
Thanks Daniel, im pretty sure im not winning the battle either. But, I am currently sitting at a table in an Indian restaurant, alongside a lake, plotting my next Substack post and writing on a Friday night…so maybe today i went a different direction for just a moment...although others might ask: On a Friday night? Alone? LOL. Oh well. I appreciate the read and the comments. Thanks again!
Fantastic and a real trip, Brian. This paragraph in particular was so so good: "The tunnel beast exhales its sharp caustic vapors and a dimple forked tongue penetrates the open spaces between shirt buttons, through form fitting undershirts, through sports coats and open blouses, through tank tops, tickling the blonde hairs clustered around nipples and thick dark strands under arms. Beads of sweat form quickly as I take that first step into some underworld."
Closing on this really caused me to stop and think. Loved hearing of Brande's words. "How often does caution triumph over authenticity? Not just in the exercise of writing but in the exercise of navigating the hard, paved streets of living."
Thanks Nathan. I appreciate you taking a read and glad you found some of the imagery compelling. And Im struck by how often in the past year I am aware of cautious decisions or actions that are contrary to a desire…but there is always the next time…thanks again!
I felt as if I was in a kaleidoscope as we left the "work-a-day" world...so many colors, sounds, even tastes. Then...transition to that moment of serenity as thoughts of writing return. Then...'one more bite'...nice portrayal of the complexities!
Thanks Christine. I like the kaleidoscope image and it actually makes me think of the way the lighting reacts in the evening at Penn Station, like looking into bright lights and looking away at the white walls as they flare up with a spectrum of color, of course its not good for the eyes. And of, course just one more…I appreciate the read and the comment!
I really appreciate your reflection on this piece, Nadia. And more and more its seems that my writing has me challenging previous assumptions about my relationship to western societal expectations. My reading of others work has always informed what i want to write, or to explore, but only recently have i begun to embrace it where possible to break my own illusory precepts of the myth of the proper citizen, parent, worker, and partner. Is it possible to write your way to reorganized pathways in the brain? Not sure, but trying, lol. And far too often caution triumphs…but maybe not tomorrow. Thanks again!
The meta is so cool (yeah Woolf!). Really interesting to hear your process and the concept. And woah - these images:
“The tunnel beast exhales its sharp caustic vapors and a dimple forked tongue penetrates the open spaces between shirt buttons, through form fitting undershirts, through sports coats and open blouses, through tank tops, tickling the blonde hairs clustered around nipples and thick dark strands under arms. “
It felt like this ride where the words were already there and they emerge from your pen/fingers. Because the image is so strange but also so smooth at the same time.
The DKW, glad you keyed on the imagery. It was the part of the writing that was weird to me, taking such a surreal portrayal of just a basic moment to bring anxiety and tension to just one simple step. And yup, meta, too much time studying post modernists (or maybe the modernists like Pirandello breaking the fourth wall in “Six Characters…”) not identify with a character in a story that knows he/she/they is/are being watched. Thanks as always!
“The air is all stagnant, congested with stench and vibration; and it lingers-not like the smell of some velvety treat. Thick small flecks of dust and mortar continuously crumble beneath the footsteps of the surface dwellers scattering from the work-a-day world.”
Really enjoyed reading this Brian. In these two sentences you make it sound like a dark underground lair with the people above unaware of what goes on below their feet, and yet the smell of the velvety treat wants to pull us back to the surface for more and, possibly, ultimately escape
“How often does caution triumph over authenticity? Not just in the exercise of writing but in the exercise of navigating the hard, paved streets of living.”
For me, this is also an everyday battle and one that I’m not sure I’m winning 🤔
Brilliantly done 👍🏼
Thanks Daniel, im pretty sure im not winning the battle either. But, I am currently sitting at a table in an Indian restaurant, alongside a lake, plotting my next Substack post and writing on a Friday night…so maybe today i went a different direction for just a moment...although others might ask: On a Friday night? Alone? LOL. Oh well. I appreciate the read and the comments. Thanks again!
Fantastic and a real trip, Brian. This paragraph in particular was so so good: "The tunnel beast exhales its sharp caustic vapors and a dimple forked tongue penetrates the open spaces between shirt buttons, through form fitting undershirts, through sports coats and open blouses, through tank tops, tickling the blonde hairs clustered around nipples and thick dark strands under arms. Beads of sweat form quickly as I take that first step into some underworld."
Closing on this really caused me to stop and think. Loved hearing of Brande's words. "How often does caution triumph over authenticity? Not just in the exercise of writing but in the exercise of navigating the hard, paved streets of living."
Thanks Nathan. I appreciate you taking a read and glad you found some of the imagery compelling. And Im struck by how often in the past year I am aware of cautious decisions or actions that are contrary to a desire…but there is always the next time…thanks again!
I felt as if I was in a kaleidoscope as we left the "work-a-day" world...so many colors, sounds, even tastes. Then...transition to that moment of serenity as thoughts of writing return. Then...'one more bite'...nice portrayal of the complexities!
Thanks Christine. I like the kaleidoscope image and it actually makes me think of the way the lighting reacts in the evening at Penn Station, like looking into bright lights and looking away at the white walls as they flare up with a spectrum of color, of course its not good for the eyes. And of, course just one more…I appreciate the read and the comment!
I really appreciate your reflection on this piece, Nadia. And more and more its seems that my writing has me challenging previous assumptions about my relationship to western societal expectations. My reading of others work has always informed what i want to write, or to explore, but only recently have i begun to embrace it where possible to break my own illusory precepts of the myth of the proper citizen, parent, worker, and partner. Is it possible to write your way to reorganized pathways in the brain? Not sure, but trying, lol. And far too often caution triumphs…but maybe not tomorrow. Thanks again!