“perhaps our arrival at interpretive conclusions participates in that process and affirms the inescapability of attempting to read the world in an empowered way, even if we are always missing the point”
-Anne McConnell, Approaching Disappearance–
But then there is a reality to writing – the unexpected, the making-up, emergence and invention. I believe in it, in spite of my theories, in spite of acquired knowledge. Something like the terms of paradox. Little matter, much substance (not really).
For fun, let’s say (in the manner of a credo):
- “I believe…
that language is a socially constructed resource recursively constituting and innovating meaning potential
- “I believe…
‘the notion of meaning potential can be characterized as a heterogeneous totality of knowledge of conventionalized patterns of normatively correct situated verbal behavior which manifests itself and emerges from social practices of a given social community’ (-Mika Lahteenmaki)
- “We believe…
that actual meanings are emergent from meaning potentials – are jointly created – recursively and interactively dependent – in their situatedness and perspectivity, unique and irreducible
- “We believe…
‘reality works in overt mystery’ (-Macedonio Fernandez, via JL Borges)
- “We believe…
that to live ‘is to make all these repetitions coexist in a space in which difference is distributed’ (-Gilles Deleuze)
- “We believe…
that living occurs via the ‘conservation of autopoiesis and the conservation of adaptation – a constant and mutual structural coupling of continuous transformations betwixt organisms and environments (envorganisms)’ (-Humberto Maturana, Francisco Varela, Paul Kockelman)
- “We believe…
in complexity and meaning, difference and repetition, redundancy and novelty, structures and contingencies, openness and change
Measures of reality (situated and perspectival…partial and relative to) – our As-if-oscope and Toxic spoon-deep. A hurly-burly and chaotic entanglement – intertwingled – adjoined in movements (writing of writing) to use an outdated metaphor: textuality and trace.
- “We could believe…
that ‘texts record the meanings we make: in words, pictures and deeds…shaping and shaped by our social relationships, politically, as individuals as members of social groups’ (-Jay Lemke)
That no effect is not mutual, recursive, intermingled and intertwined. Life is ambient, writing of writing.
In other words.
- “We believe…
that ‘Art is difficult’ (-Viktor Shklovsky) and meanings dialogic/multilogic / multimodal/multivalent (-Mikhail Bakhtin, Gunther Kress, Bruno Latour, semiosis)
Empiricism regarding ourselves is impossible (the situation and perspective necessary are not available) so we rely. i.e. we need one another and beyond. Envorganisms, we. We believe (we could say. I might).
“When we leave each other, we leave.”
A text composed is intertexuality – an Irish monk illuminating a copy; a modern blogger mashing-up – bricolage, meaning – I write, WITH.
To say I instantiate a social practice. It becomes.
Thank you. And welcome.
-a glyph is a hunt for optimism-
Slideshow of works cited:
All my Words are Silent 
Can’t say I understand everything, but that is probably an example of what you are meaning 😉
Funny you mention Shklovsky. Just stumbled uppon him myself. There is a connection between his concept of defamiliarization and my own ideas about aestetics. I am planning to write about that soon. I hit uppon him when looking for a good translation of the German word “Verfremdung”. In a forum for translators, I found “defamiliarization” and a hint on Shklovsky.
I believe, too. (gorgeous piece)
thank you
don’t know that I can follow all this … and that may even be a point … weavings of our followings joining into meaning even as our unwindings find themselves in others words changed by the journey… reminds me of an insight on the road … of ocean swimming against itself as salmon 900 miles up a river swimming against the currents born of ocean made snow and rain… the gestalt of all this reminds me of steiners insights into language as folk soul – resident in the landscape of a peoples… and the mystery of modern english torn from its moorings adrift in weave on the sea of us all… poems becoming stronger than their poets… sails for the crossings…
thank you for following and weaving and joining into meaning
I find Shklovsky amazing – like Bakhtin – these rare minds that leap and interpolate and have a variant reguard for convention compared to most of us. I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite of Shklovsky – I really like the “novels,” (like Third Factory, Zoo, Hunt for Optimism?, Sentimental Journey – but the larger works like Bowstring and Energy of Delusion compel in that they’re always revisiting and leaping, kind of like great poetry) – read as many as you can 🙂
I will, when I have the time. However, you seem to have a rare ability to read a lot. I like to read a little and then “digest” it. I like to dive deep, you roam far and wide, perhaps nearer to the surface. Both approaches are necessary.
What I just stumbled uppon is an essay entitled “Art as Device” or “Art as Technique”, depending on the translation, or “Kunst als Verfahren” in German. I have so far only seen citations and an extract but I will visit the library to get a complete text. Some of his ideas seem to fit my own.
I do have the ability to read a lot, but I read sort of in converse. I read SOME across a wide range and then back and forth across until 30-40 books are read, chapters or arguments at a time across books – so I take it in as if each were speaking to me – many – in monologues at a time…something like that – does that make sense? I assemble voices I feel ready for and then let them speak in turns, little by little they have their say – in conversation with the choir.
That must be a special talent. Admirable 🙂 I read two or three, maybe four books at a time, plus a few blogs, but it will take me a lot of time because I spend most of my time thinking on my own, so not so much time is left for reading. If I would read that much, I would have no time left to think.
Please keep reading and posting the results, they are inspiring. 🙂