What is an essay? I heard a few descriptions at a reading of essays from The Lost Origins of the Essay edited by John D’Agata a few weeks ago at REDCAT.
- An essay is both a verb and a noun because the writer figures out what she thinks as she writes.
- An essay is a quarrel with the writer’s self or the world.
- The essay is the reverse of redemption narrative because it doesn’t answer questions, it’s an ongoing argument and asks more questions.
- It’s a work of art that can change the reader’s perception of self or other people.
- The essay might not have any function at all.
- Finally, quoting D’Agata from the book, “I think the essay is a antidote to the stagnancy of writing because the essay tries to replicate the activity of the mind . . . the essay is the equivalent of a mind in rumination, performing as if improvisationally the reception of new ideas, the discovery of unknowns, the encounter with the “other.”
I bought this compilation at Bookshop Santa Cruz last summer as a counter point to the essays in Lopate’s The Art of the Personal Essay. The Lost Origins of the Essay is a doorstop compilation of essays from across time and all over the world (other than the United States) that one speaker described as an argument that the essay is a vehicle for art. The four essays I heard read certainly supported the case for artistic writing:
From 1957 – “Tisanes” by Ana Hatherly are vignettes, some a paragraph, others a sentence. To date, Hatherly, a Portugal writer, has written 463 Tisanes, approximately a third of them are translated and 15 of those are published. The provide a flurry of images interwoven with questions and observations that left me contemplative and quiet.
From 1500 B.C.E. – “Dialogue of Pessimism” by Ennatum of Akkad is a conversation between a master and slave wherein the master instructs the slave to an action, the slave instantly agrees in such a manner that the master changes his mind. While laughing at the hilarity, I wondered who really is the master and how influenced are we by the opinions of people around us? I can’t even order dinner at a restaurant without polling what everyone else is eating first.
From 1499 – “Definitions of Earthly Things” by Bernardino de Sahagun is an excerpt from the twelve volume study of Aztec life titled A General History of the Things of New Spain (one of which is now on view at the Getty’s Aztec exhibit). The book includes history, definitions, memories and stories in both Spanish and Nahuatl, the Aztec’s language. This essay is a list of definitions. What’s fascinating is that the Aztecs defined their words in relation to themselves and their reactions and experiences with the object, far more adjectives are used, and the definition is fluid, the word is defined as of that day. The speaker pointed out that the Aztecs who defined the words were under Spanish rule and were dying off very quickly which may explain why so many definitions included death and violence. I was trying to think of words that change over time, one thought was the emotional reaction an American may have over “Germany” in 1910 and then again in 1940. Let me know if you think of any other words.
From 996 – “The Pillow Book” by Sei Shonagon is a series of notebooks, similar to a journal, written by a handmaiden to the Japanese Empress. The book includes observations, stories, poems and lists. The woman has a wicked wit, I think I like her. This essay includes lists she made, “things people despise” and “things that make your heart beat fast.” I was impressed by the insight in just a list and motivated to try a few of my own.
If you like essays half as much as I do, join the Essay Challenge at Books and Movies and check out some of the essays I’ve been reading the last couple of years.
Tags: creative nonfiction, international essays, lyrical essay, poetic essay, translated essays e
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This sounds like a fascinating collection! I’m going to add this one to my wish list.
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