Can we not start speculating that the combatants in current global wars struggle less against each other and more with Uncle Vitoria’s legacy; one side needing acknowledgment and tribute for having shouldered the heavy and noble burden of teaching and the other side insisting on co-presence at all costs.
– Naeem Inayatullah, Present Dangers
I re-awoke after little sleep, powered on the laptop and tried to write some fiction. I’ve never seriously attempted fiction, and if I was going to seriously start, I should have done so in college. Courses on writing fiction would only go so far – most successful authors probably never enjoyed such benefit – but it couldn’t have hurt.
After about 500 words, I realized it was drivel and hit the big red button.
Last year I took a course with a professor in the politics department at Ithaca College. He had an unpronounceable foreign name with a reputation of being an oddball. The course was on the global political economy of oil. It was classified as an international relations course, which at the time I thought I needed to fulfill my politics requirement. Within a few weeks he had scorched my initial paper and advised me to drop the class if I had no reason to be there. It was probably the best class I ever took.
Naeem’s web presence is lacking, but I’d recommend reading Present Dangers. I re-read it tonight (this morning) and understood it for the first time. It’s a collection of personal experiences culminating into an understanding of our current global conflicts.
By the end of the course Naeem had given me high praise as a writer and thinker. I don’t know if the praise was earned. I don’t know what I’m doing.
It’s best to hide your intentions and contain your criticism if you value your chances.
Every human interaction is a charade. The reason I can’t find employment is because I’m uninterested in feigning interest in people or work I find uninteresting. I must become a better actor.
One Response
Dredd
25|Jan|2008 1Hey, didn’t i tell you you’d make a good software tester! All coders/designers really seek is _honest_ critical evaluation, with perhaps equal doses of criticism or praise.
Sure, if you’re aiming to work with joe public, or bustling office sitch, then you’ll need the odd mask for different occasions. On the other hand, someone like Naeem saw thru shallow intent, and if like does attracts like, then his ‘oddball class’ was a draw for that reason: So you’re an oddball? Don’t fight it. We are who we are.
And don’t go believing that crap about there not being any good young authors. Just like sports pros, writers get into a zone. It’s supposed to feel like ‘not writing’ when you’re tapping into your best prose. Ya always hear the phrase “It just came to me.” from the sucessful writers/muzos giving interviews. If you feel it’s a kinda destiny to do something or other, then give it every chance.
Even look’n on the down side, wannabe writers still proly have the best attitude in unpaid/lowpaid jobs. Heck, what other job can be done half decently even from prison!?
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