От тишината - звук, от нищото - нещо

by Susan Griffin, Сюзън Грифин, Георги Славов (Translator)

Ако има една основна предпоставка за „От тишината – звук, от нищото – нещо“, то тя е, че всички човешки същества притежават творчески способности. Не само аз вярвам, че творчеството ни се полага по рождение, на всички нас. А и не само хората сме креативни природно. Живеем в креативна вселена. Помислете си само: зачатие, раждане, мутации, трансформации, случват се толкова често и понякога приемаме творчеството за даденост.

Както в продължение на хилядолетия, младите катерички или сините сойки, розовите пъпки или сливите са се появявали всяка пролет, сега се появяват нови видове бръмбари или костенурки, или вируси; както постепенно пищният зелен пейзаж се превръща в кафяво пространство пред очите ни, или облаците сякаш викат дъждовете или просто бавно ги разтварят, като се оцветяват в червено със залеза на слънцето – всичко, което виждаме, участва в безкрайния кръговрат на промяната, която в крайна сметка, във всичките си проявления, включително еволюцията и промяната на климата, е творческа.

Въпреки това, колкото и често срещан и познат да е този феномен, обикновено се казва, че творчеството, особено творческото писане, не може да бъде научено. Не съм съгласна. Вярно е все пак, че освен многото невероятни книги по темата за това как се пише, има и неефективни подходи, начини на преподаване, които са практикувани от тези, които обожават литературата, но самите те не пишат. Те нямат практически опит и така тези добронамерени учители често си служат с гъсти и бодливи методи, които биха били по-присъщи на корпоративната бизнес среда или по време на военна подготовка, но не и при създаването на литература.

Тази книга има за цел да ръководи читателя през процеса на писане. Подходът е добронамерен и нежен, изведен от над петдесет години опит в обучаването на писатели и такива, които искат да започнат да пишат.

Уповавам се на трайната вяра в човешката изобретателност и целта ми е всяка глава да помогне на читателя през етапите на създаване на литературна творба – художествена или не, проза или поезия.

Главите са къси, като празното място между тях е знак за времето, които е необходимо, за да се поеме прочетеното и след това да се медитира върху него.

Текстът е подреден, спрямо въобразена, но невинаги следвана (дори невинаги подходяща) хронология на процеса на писане, от началото до края.

Първата част „Преди началото“ говори за и насърчава неуловимия процес, който предхожда всяка творческа работа – чрез него се развиват идеите, образите, сюжетите или неясните, изгубените думи.

Втората част „Писането“ съдържа различни уроци за това как да пишем – знанието, което имам от написаните от мен книги и, може би по-значимо, знанието, което съм попила от учениците си, тъй като съм напътствала много поколения.

Третата част – „Средства за постигане на целта“, има за цел да помогне на читателя да намери добрия и правилния завършек на творбата.

Сюзън Грифин

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Crafts, Essays

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

Susan Griffin is an award winning poet, writer, essayist and playwright who has written nineteen books, including A Chorus of Stones, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Named by Utne reader as one of the top hundred visionaries of the new millenium, she is the recipient of an Emmy for her play Voices, an NEA grant and a MacArthur Grant for Peace and International Cooperation. Her latest work, Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy, on being an American Citizen has been called "fresh, probing" and "incisive" by Booklist.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, I bought the book based on the title alone. A hopeful message that each of us is blessed with endless potential, but anything we create must come from a place of great humility- a place where there is silence, where there is nothing. Griffin’s book is structured as short insights into writing and thinking about writing. It does not assume to know everything, but to simply know enough. I really like that sentiment. We feel like we must arrive somewhere before we can say something. It’s just not true, in fact we may rob the world of something truly special inside of us by staying silent. Griffen reminds us that the world needs our sound and it needs our something. And I can resonate with that!

[Ренета Кирова · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книгата е насочваща за тези, които желаят да научат повече за творческото писане. Обяснено е достъпно, имаше и примери.
Сега съм напълно наясно, че съм по-скоро читател, отколкото писател. Писането ми се вижда сложен процес и тази книга ми го показа. Не съм в състояние да измисля цял сюжет, герои, че и да го напиша интересно :).
Може да е в полза на тези, които искат да пишат, но съм сигурна, че има и по-добри книги по темата от тази.
Хубаво е да се четат от писателите, за да се развиват и самоусъвършенстват в творческия процес.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for something more akin to an essayistic memoir/writer on writers and their craft type of book, so that’s on me. Still, it has that can-do upbeat tone typical to the self-help genre, which I loathe. Beautiful cover though!

[Terry Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The author wrote many short chapters that made for easy reading when there wasn’t much time. Many were rather mundane but some spoke to me in a way that I am rounding up my stars. If you like to write, or are writing a book or any such thing, this is a great little book. I read it while eating breakfast each morning which is why it took so long.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in short essays or vignettes, this work about writing is easy to pick up, put down, and contemplate. I will share some of her short missives with students as words of encouragement. Beautifully written, full of encouragement, and brief examples.

[Niklas Pivic · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review is found here.

[Calvyn]

The topic is writing, the topic is creating, and the title beautifull says it all: Out of Silence, sound. Out of Nothing, Something.

The message: begin, make a mark, write a word, and then another.

I thought this a lovely standalone thought to ponder:
(p. 154) When you find yourself falling silent as you write about any subject, ask yourself if there is some secret you are afraid to reveal or a silence you hesitate to break.

[[Maybe take a break here, and consider the words.]]

The consider its lead-in paragraph, perhaps noting the heft and weight and perhaps totally different perspective provided to the initial thought:
(also p. 154) Physical experience, sexuality, pleasure, homosexuaity, affairs and pregnancies outside marriage, "Illegitimate" children, masturbation, menstruation, rape, molestation, sexual abuse whether of men or women or children, emotional abuse, "wife beating," unhappiness in marriage, racism and the violence of racism--all these experiences have been subject to a polite silence. And they have all been the subjects of extraordinary literature.]

(At 206) Such returns inscribe a circle, one of the fundamental forms of human existence. We live on a sphere that turns and iver a year circles another sphere, a circle we are relieved to see rise most mornings. Another circle rises at night. And we are all on a circular journey as we age. From dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return. The food that nurtures us is tied to the seasons or cycles of mature, and we also rely on family circles and circles of friends for sustenance.

(at 227) Ending with Ceremony
. . . . .
I salute you, dear writer, and wish you well as you bring sounds out of silence and create something, where before you believed there was nothing.

[R.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be the chillest book on writing I've yet read. I think part of that is chalked up to Griffin's writing exuding a serene confidence in her subjects; if the individual essays are bends in a river, she navigates them without concern. Because of this I found the whole book very readable, and, furthermore, I quite like Griffin as a person from what she's shown of herself on the page. But I'll also say that it left me with more a feeling of "that was nice," rather than "wow, I learned so much!" Something about the constantly switching gears of subjects made me not so much want to pause and take notes as it made me want to just keep reading. Which is great as a reading experience, but if I didn't feel like I needed to jot down vital information as I went, I'm not sure how much I got out of it as a writer. But, it's definitely chock full of wisdom! You can see my minor internal dilemmas here.

It was good. Read it, enjoy it, and maybe learn something lovely.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most books on writing feel somewhat repetitive and superficial/obvious with their advice (sit down at the same time every day to write, break things into manageable sections, etc.), but this book was a notable exception. It was more observations about writing than advice, and the observations reflected a deep understanding about the craft of writing from someone who has really spent time looking at the process, not just enacting it. The observations are insightful and detailed, but they don't lose the forest for the trees, it's more like they enrich the forest by taking a close look at all of the trees.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book features short reflections on the craft of writing, along with quotes from various literary works. Some of the reflections are insightful and helpful, while others ramble on in flowery language without saying much of anything. I ended up skimming some, and a lot of this seemed repetitive by the end. This is mainly for people who want to feel inspired by literature and thoughts about writing, rather than people looking for tips and ideas to put into practice.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book distilled from years of experience. It’s with gentle and straightforward advice for writers. The short chapters make for easy reading. I’m so glad it was recommended to me as I probably would not have discovered it on my own.
It’s worth rereading in the future.

[Jamie Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for anyone who wants to write to be inspired. I was.

[Andrea Nichols · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about halfway through the book, but it didn’t quite keep my interest. I would have liked there to be more practical writing advice.

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evocative prose speaks

[Julie Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and practical advice about writing a book. Very practical advice elegantly written.

[Khalid El · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading kept thinking “hmm I don’t know about this”, but when I was done I had 10+ photos of passages from the book in my camera roll, and I write something great.