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June 19, 2008

Wisdom from Wendell Berry

I found what's below in an interview with Wendell Berry in the July 2008 issue of The Sun magazine. It is something to take to heart, those of who have privileged the writer's life over other paths and journeys:

Berry says:

"You need to realize...: you can lead a perfectly good and satisfactory life even if you're NOT a writer. When I figured out I could be perfectly happy and not be a writer, I became a BETTER writer...I don't think you ought to let your happiness depend on writing...The unhappiest people in the world may be the ones who think their happiness depends on artistic success."

Well said.

June 17, 2008

What is it to be human?

This stanza from Waldo Williams' poem, What is it to be human? spoke to me earlier today:

What is it to sing? To receive breath
From the genius of creation.
What's work but humming a song
From wood and wheat.

This translation from the Welsh by Menna Elfyn was in Poetry magazine in April 2008.