I’m afraid to write. It’s so dangerous. Anyone who’s tried, knows. The danger of stirring up hidden things – and the world is not on the surface, it’s hidden in its roots submerged in the depths of the sea. In order to write I must place myself in the void. In this void is where I exist intuitively. But it’s a terribly dangerous void: it’s where I wring out blood. I’m a writer who fears the snares of words: the words I say hide others – which? maybe I’ll say them. Writing is a stone cast down a deep well.
Do I write or not?…A light and gentle meditation on the nothing…
Does “writing” exist in and of itself? No. It is merely the reflection of a thing that questions. I work with the unexpected. I write the way I do without knowing how and why – it’s the fate of my voice. The timbre of my voice is me. Writing is a query. It’s this: ?
I write for nothing and for no one…I don’t make literature: I simply live in the passing of time. The act of writing is the inevitable result of my being alive…
I feel as though I’m still not writing…My problem is the fear of going mad. I have to control myself…And so I’ll leave a page blank or the rest of the book – I’ll come back when I can.
Clarice Lispector, Breath of Life
Great quote!
It’s like directive and absolution all in one.
Reblogged this on From 1 Blogger 2 Another.
Thanks for this. Never heard of her before. As far as novels are concerned I have been re-reading John Cowper Powys “Wolf Solent” and “Weymouth Sands” or just sticking with the old classic standbys for the last few years. Everything contemporary looked lack-lustre. Have great hopes for Clarice! Just read the first few pages of her last work in download. Shall I spend precious money on the book? It’s the only way I can read a novel. In the flesh as it were.
Well “Stream of Life” (or Agua Viva) & “Passion Accdg to GH” have been long favorites of mine – “Breath of Life” was an unfinished work – she is also a tremendous short story & journal writer – I recommend everything :). & also very much enjoy Powys!