I often write little thoughts on this blog about family, school, and funny things that happen. I am going to expand that idea in the coming months.
One of my favorite literary forms is the essay. Essays have a rich history. Writers like W.H. Auden, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and C.S. Lewis have made use of the essay to examine (briefly) some principle or problem. So, what do I mean by essay? Take this snippet from Wikipedia:
An essay is a piece of writing, usually from an author's personal point of view. Essays are non-fictional but often subjective; while expository, they can also include narrative. Essays can be literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author.
I don't think I'll be generating too many political manifestos, though I am toying with a political system that would require legislative bodies to stand on one foot while in session. This, I contend, will refocus our leadership.
Manifestos aside, the essay has always been attractive for me because it is short. Shorter than a short story usually. Of course, there are essays that drone on for volumes at a time, bemoaning some 'ism' or condemning mankind's teasing of waterfowl. These are not good examples of what I am trying to do.
What I want to do is 'flesh out' a nuance of life in each essay. I chose the word nuance carefully. An essay is not the place to construct a systematic view of the world. Though, as they come together, I hope the nuances will reveal a view of the world that centers on God and His purposes in Christ.
One of my favorite literary forms is the essay. Essays have a rich history. Writers like W.H. Auden, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and C.S. Lewis have made use of the essay to examine (briefly) some principle or problem. So, what do I mean by essay? Take this snippet from Wikipedia:
An essay is a piece of writing, usually from an author's personal point of view. Essays are non-fictional but often subjective; while expository, they can also include narrative. Essays can be literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author.
I don't think I'll be generating too many political manifestos, though I am toying with a political system that would require legislative bodies to stand on one foot while in session. This, I contend, will refocus our leadership.
Manifestos aside, the essay has always been attractive for me because it is short. Shorter than a short story usually. Of course, there are essays that drone on for volumes at a time, bemoaning some 'ism' or condemning mankind's teasing of waterfowl. These are not good examples of what I am trying to do.
What I want to do is 'flesh out' a nuance of life in each essay. I chose the word nuance carefully. An essay is not the place to construct a systematic view of the world. Though, as they come together, I hope the nuances will reveal a view of the world that centers on God and His purposes in Christ.
Each essay will explore a one word idea: daughter, wife, friend, conversation, scholarship, laughter, frustration, relax, ignore, etc... I hope to devote a little more thought to them than I would to a normal blog post.
I will just see how it goes.
I will just see how it goes.
1 comment:
Looking forward to see what God would have you write in these essays.
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