Sarah said :" We are constantly trying to find ways to communicate what we are thinking or feeling with other people and through writing perhaps we can find ways to bridge the gap between our language and our thoughts. "
The first part of that, about communicating what is inside our heads, hidden from others, seems to contradict something Amani said ( quoting Steinbeck): "If a story is not about the hearer he [or she] will not listen..." At first, that seems strange. Why would someone only listen to a story she already knows? But I do think it is true. I just can't make myself read books that I can't relate to. You will not find me reading the autobiography of a sports star. Or maybe you would: my struggles haven't been developing as an athlete, but they have been about developing as a teacher. SO maybe his story IS my story when you get to the heart of the story.
The second part of Sarah's statement, about bridging the gap between language and thought, connects to what Sherzel said:"Lisa already had an entire essay. It was simply spread out between her mind, her lips, and the words she had already laid out on paper." I wonder how much of writing is about moving something that is already there in my head, out into a public space in a form that people can see, and how much is a way to generate thoughts. As my friend, Professor Gruner, said at lunch today, "You don't know the whole essay before you write it. You write one sentence. And then that sentence leads to what the next sentence should be." And I was thinking that Sherzel's image of the essay as it is forming, living "spread out" in mind, on lips, and on paper all at the same time, is a really interesting image. As it is living , it is spread out, like moss, and the way it is actually lots of little tiny plants, not just one big plant:
All those things together are "moss."
When we talk about "writing" are we talking about one thing?
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