Language

I am a voracious reader. I devour books, many times in one sitting. I feel naked without an unread book, hanging around somewhere close to me.

Lately I've noticed something really interesting. Really good writers make me slow down. I can't finish their books at my usual, breakneck speed.

I owe it to every writer to slow down, and really appreciate the nuances of their work. I wonder how very much I have already missed.

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I love language. I love the way words work, the way they feel, what they mean.

Lately - I've thought about language and how words work. I appreciate how one word can mean many things, and how sometimes just one word, and how it is said, can mean so much. I love watching the different ways people react to words.

Maybe that's why I have found myself a new fan of poetry.

In poetry, writers use words efficiently. They weave many meanings into short phrases, drawing pictures in our minds, often using a very limited landscape.

How do they know what images the words they weave will call to my mind? How do our shared perceptions, become magic? Should I assume that I can know what words will reach out and touch someone else's ideas?

I don't feel like I will ever be a great poet, maybe not even a fair one, but I do feel like I have some very important work to do on the road to better writing.

I have a feeling there are many great lessons waiting for me in my poetry corner.

Maybe I'll learn more about word efficiency. Maybe I will develop a voice, and some style. And maybe, just maybe, learn I will learn a little something about myself.

Happy Friday