When I don't Write

In the last several months I have experimented with a new vantage for writing. I told myself to lay off the verbiage a bit. That has worked for a while, indeed a few less blogposts but also a few more thoughts chasing around in my brain. Now I wonder about so and so – are they waiting for my thoughts? Or are they perhaps relieved that for now it's a little less verbosity? This of course immediately accompanied by my own self-styled philosophy “to thine own self be true” still "saying it as I sees it". And ... there are some freshly troubling responses from several editor-types, suggesting I might read this and this such and such books about creative writing, and also a query about might I want to write a series on...? 😐 To date I have experienced both encouragement and discouragement from the experts.

And then back to that other thought, what if my bona fides perhaps only read out of obligation? That would be horrible. And then, a further awareness. A few of my other friends keep cranking 'em out, probably totally free of this my own self-created anxiety, some of their productions profound, and some kind of so so. I guess they don't need my kind of a break! Obviously we have here a subject bigger than the creation of nice sentences. I too have read a few creative writing type tomes, and also some creations by those who are slavish about following those writing tips, and … I just know my writing is not happy following too many instructions. This is part of what's on my mind during this current slightly sputtering accumulation of non-posts.

And of course I read books; just read The New Morningside Papers [i] by the infamous Peter Gzowski who was host of CBC’s Morningside for five years (1982-1987), yielding a publication in 1985, a Canadian best-seller – 50,000 copies I think - and now this follow-up more little stories by those who respond to his requests to "write something." It's just more of the same, if there is a same to the hundreds and hundreds of ordinary people who write in. These people from everywhere wrote answers just because he asked them to write briefly (one page usually) about this or that. When you ask people about this or that, and if you’re interested in their replies, of a sudden people write out of their absolute best space, and that will yield best-sellers! 

What fascinates me about Gzowski is that his bio reads a bit like the makings of a loser. His parents split shortly after he was born; as a young adult reconnected with his birth father, attended same undergrad college as his dad, but got bored and quit, followed by series of impressive jobs like editor of MacLean’s magazine, but none lasted very long, until eventually we in this country of Canada came to know and still remember the slow talking slightly sleepy Morningside personality. He also smoked about 75 cigarettes a day, not exactly an exemplary habit, and it probably contributed to his rather early death in 2002.

Apparently public speaking contains similar ironies. Some of the best speakers do not read from a script; they just make sure of their message and proceed to speak about it. Nonetheless these same speakers can be quite irritating to their audiences if they merely go on and on with their creative imagery not going anywhere. The message must live within the speaker. I for one do not mind information boringly presented if I can feel it’s going somewhere! Enter the former world of Toastmasters and present day of Ted Talks. What is the right way, the creative way, the best-seller way? Back to Peter Gzowski. He tells of one occasion interviewing CBC’s greatest storyteller Stuart McLean, the interview quickly went off the rails - got mired in the giggles. Something at beginning had struck both their funnybones and the interview became a disaster, unable to finish because they were killing themselves with laughter. Says Gzowski, Open and uncontrolled laughter. We are gone. … Tears are running down my cheeks. We can’t look each other in the eye. “We’d better play some music,” I say, and the control room saves us. [ii]  It became a hit! Everybody loved listening to the two suffering conversationalists! Canada's greatest talk show host broke all the rules.

I have a good friend - my cousin actually – who comes to mind here not because he is an excellent writer (Although he most certainly is that. I know he's read one or two of those how-to books also). He comes to mind here because recently touched on this very topic in one of his blogs, “The Poet Pastor” [iii], quoting a Lutheran minister who says today the church is decluttered, in other words the real essence of today's church is not all those identifiers like street addresses and theological variations, ecumenical, evangelical, progressive or fundamentalist, organized into hundreds of denominations and sub-denominations, etc. This has become too complex, says Abe. The real essence is not in all of this. Faith communities need to be much aware of the Source of their life moreso than clergy job descriptions and denominational affiliation. Rather than preachers who try to explain things we need poet pastors! His reference to notables like Albert Einstein and others makes the assertion that there is more reality in the imagination, in artistry, than in knowledge. The decluttering reference gets me thinking also about our faith communities still carrying considerable clutter - more decluttering needed in order to experience in a greater way the great continuing promise of God above and beyond the clutter. It's actually quite obvious in the Bible (and no need to write yet another commentary!): Ruach, God’s breath there in the beginning (Genesis 2:7); continuing Comforter, or paraclete as promised by Jesus (John 16:7); and at the end of time the Lamb (Revelation 5:6).

And one more thing, perhaps unnecessary especially when writing about not writing! I conclude with what’s kind of a no-brainer, came as a gift from an elder in our church who still writes reflectively, albeit briefly. He tells of Jesus’ conversation with Nathaniel (John 1:47) [iv], recognizes him as an Israelite “in whom there is no deceit.” From this vantage of Jesus recognizing the genuine disciple, brother Strempler provides a timely teaching for us all, the importance of holding our egos in check. Easy to be overcome by clouds of self-deceit, self-preoccupation and egocentrism blocking out the light of God. 

 

Romans 3:23 anybody? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Good reminder even among my efforts at a little less verbal clutter. And I don’t even mind if it sounds a little Baptist. 😏

 

 

 

 

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[i] Peter Gzowski, The New Morningside Papers (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart), 1987.

[ii] Ibid. p 29.

[iii] Abe Janzen, “The Poet Pastor,” http://somemessynotes.wordpress.com, August 5, 2023.

[iv] Erwin Strempler, “Without Deceit”, email sent to reading group, August 20, 2023.