See Now Then

A few years ago I went to a reading by Georgia authors Terry Kay and Lauretta Hannon. During his presentation, Kay talked about the importance of rhythm in the language an author employs. He talked about reading your work aloud and getting a sense of its rhythm before you call it done.

When I’m reading a novel, my awareness level isn’t that sharp. I’m paying attention to the elements of the story itself – the plot, the characters – so that the language, for the most part, is secondary. Something might jump out at me – like the repeated use of a certain word, but the truth is, I am a shallow reader. I’m ankle deep in the experience, not knee, not neck. Ankle.

Last week, I plucked Jamaica Kincaid’s SEE NOW THEN from the library shelf of new audio books. I knew nothing about it, but recognized the author’s name. After a cursory skim of the synopsis, I figured I’d give it a try. I hadn’t read or listened to any of Kincaid’s work so why not?

Impressions are made on first encounters. If my introduction to you is when you are cutting me off in traffic, I’m going to think you’re an asshole. I’m not going to waste any time considering how you might be late for an appointment or you just got off the phone with the school nurse and you have to go pick up a sick kid at school or that you don’t really know where you’re going and had to get across that lane before you miss your exit. Nope. You’re just a jerk who risked both our lives by cutting into my lane on I75.

Conversely, if I’m driving through a busy parking lot and you’re the nice person who stops and waves me on so that I can get to the spot I’ve spied, I’m sure in that moment that you are definitely not a jerk.

And so it is with this novel SEE NOW THEN. If my first encounter with this work had been the hardback (read an excerpt here), I wouldn’t have made it through a couple of pages before I gave up. What’s more, I likely would never again have tried to read something by Jamaica Kincaid. As you can see from reviews, this is not an easy read. Set aside the argument about whether it’s autobiographical or not (and why is it that we care so much about that?), but the way Kincaid has employed repetition, in particular, drives readers mad. Stark raving, one star review giving mad.

But if you are introduced, as I was, to this novel as an audio experience, read by the author?

Wow. Now I understand what Terry Kay meant all those years ago. Rhythm.

SEE NOW THEN is a novel to be listened to, listened to, listened to.

Some people don’t dance if they don’t know who’s singing

Source

When I used to work from home, was unemployed, lived in my little enclosed world, I was skeptical of the way the workplace was portrayed on television sitcoms.

Maybe I’d been working in tiny offices for too long. I mean, my last paying gig had its moments. Like the time I did a little breaking and entering for my boss. Or the time we had the tutorial on using Urban Dictionary to look up phrases to describe questionable sex acts. Yes, I’m judging.

Now that I’m working in a larger office with a cast of characters (several who will require pseudonyms at some point), I’m less skeptical.

Some of the pseudonyms are easy. For example, there’s The Bossfriend and Monique. I work most closely with them. The Prankster shows up occasionally with his airhorn and duct tape. We have The Kid, Maxine, and Mr. Wholesome. We have the Former Mayor of Portland.

One of the characters, however, needs a name desperately and he seems to defy categorization. Recently, he had each of us sign a sheet of paper

I asked why.

“Can’t I just get a little blind faith. Just this once?”

I signed. I hate to see a grown man cry.

Turns out he wanted to analyze our personalities using our penmanship. According to him, I’m creative, start strong, but have trouble finishing what I’ve started.

I swear, I haven’t talked about my writing or lack thereof at the office at all, so maybe there’s something to this signature analysis business.

Of course, according to him, we also have several staff with anger issues, short attention spans, too much work, too little work, trouble with the drink and one who would, in another life, be your sixth grade teacher. Such beautiful penmanship. A lost art really.

I couldn’t deny how hurried and sloppy my signature is so I spent my lunch hour practicing new techniques like a girl in love doodling her boyfriend’s name on her notebook. Well, that was a waste of a lunch hour. I didn’t even come close to developing a signature signature. It still looks like

Lisa Gol(Ican’tbebotheredtowritetherestoftheletters).

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People on Twitter and Facebook were oohing and ahhing over Shirley Bassey’s performance during The Oscars on Sunday night. I had no idea who she was until someone tweeted that she was singing Goldfinger and then I remembered that voice. That voice.

So this got my attention this morning. It’s rough and delicious and so very relevant. Micro and macro.

 

Is history repeating itself?

What does your signature say about you?