About

“Writing is a question of becoming, always incomplete, always in the midst of being formed, and goes beyond the matter of any livable or lived experience…Writing is imperceptible from becoming:”

“Literature is a collective assemblage of enunciation…it opens up a kind of foreign language within language.”

“…far from having attained the limits they set for themselves, which ceaselessly slip away from them…to write is also to become something other than a writer.”

-Gilles Deleuze-

Literature and Life

“I’m in words, made of words, others’ words, what others, the place too, the air…I’m all these words, all these strangers, this dust of words, with no ground for their settling.”

“I have nothing to do, that is to say, nothing in particular.  I have to speak.  Whatever that means.  Having nothing to say, no words but the words of others, I have to speak.“

“The expression that there is nothing to express, nothing with which to express, nothing from which to express, no power to express, no desire to express, together with the obligation to express.”

“The fact would seem to be, if in my situation one may speak of facts, not only that I shall have to speak of things of which I cannot speak, but also, which is even more interesting, but also that I, which is if possible even more interesting, that I shall have to, I forget, no matter.  At the same time I am obliged to speak.  I shall never be silent.  Never.”

“Forward!  That’s soon said.  But where is forward?”

Howitis - Beckett

– Samuel Beckett –

“Writing, not wanting to, wanting to, not being able to.”

“Express only that which cannot be expressed.  Leave it unexpressed.”

“the strength of an impersonal speech, the subsistence of a language that speaks itself on its own.”

“It is as if the possibility that my writing represents essentially exists to express its own impossibility – the impossibility of writing that constitutes my sadness.  Not only can it not put it in parentheses, or accommodate it without destroying it or being destroyed by it, but it really is possible only because of its impossibility.”

“perceiving all the strangeness there was in being observed by a word as if by a living being, and not simply by one word, but by all the words that were in that word, by all those that went with it and in turn contained other words…like a procession opening out into the infinite.”

maurice-blanchot-4

– Maurice Blanchot –

 

“Language cannot properly be said to be handed down – it endures, but it endures as a continuous process of becoming.”

“The meaning of a word is determined entirely by its context.  In fact, there are as many meanings of a word as there are contexts of its usage.”

“Utterance is a social phenomenon.”

“Expression organizes experience.”

“In point of fact, a word is a two-sided act…As word, it is precisely the product of the reciprocal relationship between speaker and listener, addresser and addressee.  Each and every word expresses the ‘one’ in relation to the ‘other.’“

“A word is a bridge thrown between myself and another.  If one end of the bridge depends on me, then the other depends on my addressee.  A word is a territory shared by both.”

Bakhtin

– Mikhail Bakhtin –

“Language is not an instrument; it is irreducible to any function of mediation, any work on behalf of meanings, statements, descriptions, narrations, expressions of feeling, or objects of this or that form or definition.  It is rather a material that exposes me to the limits of my power.“

– Gerald Bruns –

 

 

106 thoughts on “About”

  1. Thank you for dropping by mouseytong.com. Your list of books that you are reading sounds really interesting. I don’t have much time to read but I do whenever I can. I now want to search out some of the books you have listed. 🙂

  4. kpadhnan

    thank you for following my blog….I like you blog….
    yes…i got a new friend….
    thank you dear…

  10. shattereddroplets

    I adore the way you express things, it is incredibly inspiring. The way you write is exquisite and I love reading your work.

  15. Hello, Nathan. I rather enjoyed reading your bio . . . if there is anyone who believes that the written word can both impart and invoke feeling, it is a writer; still, it’s is often difficult to read a person through words alone. Your ambition and zeal floods your prose.

    Blessings,
    ~ Cara

  16. Wow, superb blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is magnificent, as well as the content!. Thanks For Your article about About manoftheword .

  17. Daniela

    Hi,

    I just come over to say big thanks for visiting my blog and liking what you found there. I like your blog too and was very glad to found Umberto Eco here – he is great!

    Daniela

  25. Tim Smith

    Hi Nathan- it is your old pal Tim Smith from PCB/Jerusalem. I have reached out to you before with no success. That’s OK- I am glad you are doing well and enjoyed reading your poetry. Write me back if you can; I’d love to hear from you. -Tim tsis100@hotmail.com

  26. Yay Timothy! So happy to hear from you! Going back to school and telling stories…how could they not include you! Good timing – I’ll be in touch – eager to hear your path (i’m sure it’s been “different”) 🙂

  31. I came here to say you have a great gravater image . Now I see you have many interesting blogs! I’ve been going through them. Thanks for coming by and liking my one blog.

  32. thank you – the Giacometti sketch you’re referring to, or the Ouroborous? Thanks a lot for spending some time with our works…we enjoy yours much as well

  52. Marie Taylor

    I saw that you had liked several of my posts and decided to follow my blog. Thank you. I hope that in the future you may discover other posts that resonate with you. Your site is very unique and creative. best wishes, Marie

  65. Thank you for visiting, Nathan. I am trying to understand what you are presenting here; agree with what you say, but still don’t know where you’re going with it. You have a number of links on this page that don’t work, such as “www.ekphrastixarts.com”, and I would advise that you eliminate them. I have been stubborn, and did eventually find your wife’s beautiful art work. but I imagine that some visitors might have given up after a few links that didn’t work. Do you produce art too, or is your interest purely intellectual? With best wishes…

  69. Victoria C.D

    Loving your posts, hope to discuss/comment further on much of your writings on here! Keep the great posts coming!

  74. Pingback: And the winners are… | Éadaoín Lynch

  80. I see you stopped by my blog.Thanks for the”like” I can’t find it on your blog but wordpress sent me an imaee of a bronze casting of a beheaded man – very very powerful.I can’t get it out of my head. I’m working on a war painting which I blogged about recently. Your sculpture reminded me of a friends sculpture series Nuke News He cast them in the 80’s – Robert Arneson. Always good to see what you and your wife are up to. Carla

  81. Thank you Carla! I’ve had some trouble finding the time to keep up with others’ work of late (unfortunately)…always happy to see yours. The bronze I am using is by Bill Woodrow (2001) – entitled “Listening to History” – I photographed it at Meier Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI

  82. A very very belated thanks for visiting my blog; I’ve been on a bit of a sabbatical writing “a borrowing of bones” but back to blogging with a lot of wonderful sites to catch up on. Hope you enjoy a walk through my village, I’ll be posting the poems through the first week of February.

  84. Thank you very much for this – as you mention in your post – I too have felt somewhat beleaguered and constipated in my writing efforts of late. It is very encouraging to be read and responded to. Many good wishes and sincere thanks for this consideration.

  85. Linda

    I love the change model on your “about” page. Can you tell me who created it or where I can find more info?

  86. thedawnerupts

    Hi Nathan, I really appreciate the offer to meet up while you were in Tulsa this weekend! I have a sick child, and so I don’t think it is going to work out this time. I’m in OKC, about an hour and a half away from Tulsa, by the way – not all that far. Thanks so much for thinking of me while you’ll be down here! Enjoy Oklahoma, and thanks so much for enjoying my work! (Sorry I’ve been on hiatus the last six or so months!). I really do appreciate you. Your writing has often given me inspiration for my own

  89. Wow! From just a little preliminary poking around on your blog I can seethis is potent, rich, and full of the best kind of provocation, I’ll be coming back for more. Meanwhile, thanks for visiting Back2theRoot and giving it a “like”. I’m honored–really!

  93. Thank you for visiting my site as well. Yes Tom’s work at ineedartandcoffee is excellent! I no longer have a site featuring visual work – and all of mine is beginner efforts / play anyway 🙂 Thank you for your work.

  97. Hello Nathan, thank you for following my blog and liking my posts. I love your writing and am equally inspired by the people you reference. There has been much silence at my end both in art and writing due to illness and the fact I have been choking on grief, like a fish bone stuck in my throat, I can’t spit it out. I don’t want it to be the last word and your writing has encouraged me to try and practice the art of writing spit…bit by bit. Regards Denise

  98. Greetings Denise, I am honored that you made the effort of correspondence. I’m grateful that you’ve found some words here that suit you. Illness and grief – two very strange relations with the world that definitely disarrange us. Writing spit…bit by bit…I hope so, spit can have so many flavors, uses, and textures. From your body it could not but be worthwhile. We look forward to it. Boon – Nathan

  100. nannus

    Hi Nathan, I have seen you tried to get onto my blogs. I am planning to restart a new blog but don’t have enough time at the moment. I have published some stuff on “Borderless Philosophy”. Google for “Borderless Philosophy andreas keller proteons”. I am planning to publish there again. Maybe you can write something there as well? The call for submissions will come out soon. I’ll keep you informed.

  101. This is hopeful and good to hear! Not having “enough time” seems pandemic to our year! I am happy there are stirrings, stirrings-still. Looking forward. All best.

  102. I have another thinker I think would be incredible to publish papers with Borderless / Against Professional Philosophy. I will ask permission to share his unpublished creations – have been very powerful to me. Love those titles. Carry forth!

  103. nannus

    Here is the call for submissions for BP4.

    https://www.cckp.space/single-post/2020/09/08/BP4-2021-First-Call-For-Submissions

    I also had some stuff on BP3. You might recognize some of it since it was partially developped out of old blog posts. However, this time I had very little time to really finish it, because my 90 years old mother was terminally ill and I took care of her, until she died in May. Fortunately she lived in the appartment next door (when that had become free, I immediately caused her to move in) and “fortunately” it was lock down, so I was home all the time, working from home. For my contributions to BP3, however that meant they ended up a bit half backed. I hope I am going to have more time this year. There are several ideas but I have not yet decided what exactly to submit.

"A word is a bridge thrown between myself and an other - a territory shared by both" - M. Bakhtin