Writing Your Own Translation

"All mankind is one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and ever chapter must be so translated..." (John Donne)


I've been reading in article in Harper's Magazine (2007 edition) called "The Ecstasy of Influence" in which Jonathan Lethem notes that a number of the books in the so called "Canon" are variations on early books or ideas. Some call this stealing; others call this writing with influence. Does the notion that everything has already been written mean we can't produce anything original? Has every story been told?

Remember the game where you would sit in a circle and whisper an idea to each other and then each person would repeat the story, passing it around the circle. The last person to hear the story had to recount the story so that participants could hear how the story had been, sometimes, totally rewritten. To some degree, literature is like that. We read, and then we write, but is what we write original or is it rewriting a prior idea or story that we have heard or read elsewhere? Is there anything wrong with this; does it constitute plagiarism or is that something completely different?

Are you a writer who depends on influence?

The Power of Hate and a Four Year Old

No one knows the power of the word hate like a child, especially a four year old. At about four years old, most kids start to use the word hate with great frequency because it is an age of great frustration. As they become frustrated, kids mimic those around them and react in a similar fashion. Conseqently, it is not uncommon to hear "I hate this boot," "I hate crusts," or "I hate this shirt." However, when your child turns to you and says - with extra stress on the "I" - I...hate you" you realize that you are at a very important juncture. How you react to the moment will begin to formulate how your child learns the power of words.

At this crucial moment, a parent is faced with a few options: 1). walk away 2). redirect the child, so in a sense you ignore the issue, 3). tell the child that "hate" is a strong word and that he should use "not like" instead of hate, or 4). scream back "I hate you, too." I have tried 1-3, but for some reason yelling "I hate you" at a child is beyond me. The experience does allow a parent to rethink how the meaning of hate has changed.

According to Wikipedia, hate can mean several different things: "Hate can mean
the emotion of hate; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
dislike intensely; feel antipathy or aversion towards; "I hate Mexican food"; "She detests politicians." However, it can also mean "an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, enmity, or antipathy for a person, thing, or phenomenon; a desire to avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy its object. Because language is dynamic, the intensity and use of "hate" and "dislike" are more commonly linked than ever.

Are there things I dislike? Yes. But are there things I hate? Not many. I can't think of an intense hatred for anyone that has carried itself from my past into my present. Do I use the word? Yes, but not as much as I used to.

Raising a child allows a person to reconsider the power of words and actions. Sadly or ironically, I don't know if we can learn these lessons in many other ways other then the case where you find yourself responsible for fostering hate in a child.

Blogging Resources

I will be adding links about blogging tools. You can design your blog anyway you want, so feel free to add music, pictures, etc.. anything that helps personalize your blog.

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Finding Blogs Worth the Search

Use Google to search for blog search engines or try searching for blogs by typing in key words. Type in specific words to limit the number of blogs that pop up. Look for blogs that contain links and specific references so that you get a sense the blog writer is credible. Also, look for frequent entries and at the list of reader responses. These are two factors that may indicate that the site is current and one worth reading.