Suspense left my life a long time ago, now it has returned. I do not care for it.
“Suspense left my life a long time ago, now it has returned. I do not care for it.” Ben Marcus
Sorry, I said to myself, wondering how many times in my marriage I’d said that, how many times I’d meant it, how many times Claire had actually believed it, and, most important, how many times the utterance had any impact whatsoever on our dispute. What a lovely chart one could draw of this word Sorry.
“Sorry, I said to myself, wondering how many times in my marriage I’d said that, how many times I’d meant it, how many times Claire … Read More
Machineries of reason, machineries of conduct, machineries of virtue. The machine that regulates instinct, keeps one’s hands free of another man’s throat, free of one’s own. These machines have all, as someone said, gone too long in the elements. Gummed now, rusted, bloodless.I forget who said it and I no longer care.
“Machineries of reason, machineries of conduct, machineries of virtue. The machine that regulates instinct, keeps one’s hands free of another man’s throat, free of one’s … Read More
Judaism to me, as badly as I practiced it, what I’ve always loved about it was its total embrace of complexity, its admission of unknowability.
“Judaism to me, as badly as I practiced it, what I’ve always loved about it was its total embrace of complexity, its admission of unknowability.” … Read More
I love the way dates in a text make us think that truth will follow.
“I love the way dates in a text make us think that truth will follow.” Ben Marcus
I like big doses of grief when I read: Richard Yates, Flannery O’Connor, Kenzabaro Oe, Thomas Bernhard.
“I like big doses of grief when I read: Richard Yates, Flannery O’Connor, Kenzabaro Oe, Thomas Bernhard.” Ben Marcus
Fiction becomes a place where I face certain fears such as losing language or losing my children.
“Fiction becomes a place where I face certain fears such as losing language or losing my children.” Ben Marcus
Among other things, autoimmune disorders are an induction into a world of unstable information and no reliable expertise.
“Among other things, autoimmune disorders are an induction into a world of unstable information and no reliable expertise.” Ben Marcus
A self needed to spill out sometimes, a body should show evidence of what the hell went on inside it.
“A self needed to spill out sometimes, a body should show evidence of what the hell went on inside it.” Ben Marcus
My first book, ‘The Age of Wire and String,’ came out in 1995, and it was hardly reviewed at all.
“My first book, ‘The Age of Wire and String,’ came out in 1995, and it was hardly reviewed at all.” Ben Marcus
Being with him was like being alone underwater – everything was slow; nothing counted; I could not be harmed; I would feel dry and cold when I resurfaced.
“Being with him was like being alone underwater – everything was slow; nothing counted; I could not be harmed; I would feel dry and cold … Read More
Without sound, celebration and grief look nearly the same.
“Without sound, celebration and grief look nearly the same.” Ben Marcus
A misspelled word is probably an alias for some desperate call for aid, which is bound to fail.
“A misspelled word is probably an alias for some desperate call for aid, which is bound to fail.” Ben Marcus
People are considered as areas that resist light, mistakes in the air, collision sweet spots. At the time of this writing, the whole world is a crime scene: People eat space with their bodies; they are rain decayers; the wind is slaughtered when they move. A retaliation is probably coming. Should a person cease to move, she would cease to kill the sky, and the world might begin to recover.
“People are considered as areas that resist light, mistakes in the air, collision sweet spots. At the time of this writing, the whole world is … Read More
When I started writing at 18 or 19, I had a fear of anything autobiographical, but I’ve come to realise that my writing is very autobiographical at the emotional level.
“When I started writing at 18 or 19, I had a fear of anything autobiographical, but I’ve come to realise that my writing is very … Read More
To refrain from storytelling is perhaps one of the highest forms of respect we can pay. Those people, with no stories to circle them, can die without being misunderstood.
“To refrain from storytelling is perhaps one of the highest forms of respect we can pay. Those people, with no stories to circle them, can … Read More
Slamming the book shut produces a wind on the face, a weather that is copyrighted by the author, and this wind may not be deployed without permission, nor may the pages be turned without express written permission.
“Slamming the book shut produces a wind on the face, a weather that is copyrighted by the author, and this wind may not be deployed … Read More
Rain is used as white noise when God is disgusted by too much prayer, when the sky is stuffed to bursting with the noise of what people need.
“Rain is used as white noise when God is disgusted by too much prayer, when the sky is stuffed to bursting with the noise of … Read More
RHETORIC The art of making life less believable; the calculated use of language, not to alarm but to do full harm to our busy minds and properly dispose our listeners to a pain they have never dreamed of. The context of what can be known establishes that love and indifference are forms of language, but the wise addition of punctuation allows us to believe that there are other harms – the dash gives the reader the clear signal they are coming.
“RHETORIC The art of making life less believable; the calculated use of language, not to alarm but to do full harm to our busy minds … Read More
The common, the quotidian, is so much more unyielding to me, really stubborn and hard to work with, and I like this because it makes me think and it makes me worry. I can’t just plunge my hand into the meat of it. I need new approaches.
“The common, the quotidian, is so much more unyielding to me, really stubborn and hard to work with, and I like this because it makes … Read More