I haven't blogged in the last month because I've been reworking my paper, "The Responsibility to Save Bodies: Camus and Global Activism" for a conference in October. I'm happy with the revision though I think the paper needs one more round of serious editing before I'm willing to let it go out to journals for review.
Josh Ritter and the American Sensual Spirituality
Josh Ritter is one of my favorite songwriters. In his songs, he weaves wonderful narratives, develops arresting images, and in his live performances, he radiates joy. His new single, “Getting Ready to Get Down,” has been on loop for the last month, while I wait for his new album, Sermon on the Rocks, to come out in October.
On Charles Wright's "Crystal Declension"
I recently picked up Charles Wright’s Caribou when I was at Powell’s in Portland (gosh, I love a good bookstore), and it’s been my traveling companion for the last few weeks. I’m definitely still finding my way in Wright’s verse, and “Crystal Declension” is my first foothold in Caribou. I appreciate Wright’s natural imagery and the way he connects our lifecycles with nature. Caribou is more than simply about birth and death; it’s about the perspective this recognition opens up. This is where “Crystal Declension” fits.
On Albert Camus's "Return to Tipasa"
I’ve been reading Camus for many years now. My appreciation for his writing continues to deepen. Recently, his lyrical essays have opened up to me. I had kept them at arm’s length because I fear that I already tend toward poetical romanticism, and they didn’t really fit what I wanted from Camus, the activist. Then something changed, or so it seems. I’ve been rereading “Return to Tipasa”* over the last year and enjoying its unfolding.
You Have a Donkey, So Have I
I’ve recently been thinking about JL Austin’s donkey. It’s a philosophical scenario that reveals the distinction between an action done by mistake and one done by accident. All too often, we’re careless in our speech. It’s easy to conflate mistakes and accidents especially in those anxious and fearful moments when responsibility is falling upon you, and you need to say something to avoid the responsibility or at the very least to mitigate the blame associated with that responsibility. When our emotional walls rise in a panic, we tend to opt for the kitchen sink approach. Our torrent of words subordinate meaning to immediate psychic relief, and we lose control of language and surrender the only real possible path to peace—communication. The link between responsibility and communication has kept me meditating on the useful distinction between mistakes and accidents.