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Write What’s Burning Inside – but Beware of Its Fuel

June 7, 2021

affect, guest post, Igor Livramento, writing

Today’s post – “Write What’s Burning Inside But Beware Of Its Fuel” – is authored by Igor da Silva Livramento. He’s a fellow academic from UFSC, fellow author, fellow creative-writing advisor, and overall a great fellow. He’s also a composer, music theorist, and producer. Check out his papers on Academia.edu, his music on Bandcamp, and his personal musings on his blog – in Portuguese, Spanish/Castilian, and English. You can also find him on LinkedIn.

Chris mentions this time and again: Write honest to heart, from the fire burning inside. I’d like to add: Indeed, but beware of your flames’ fuel. Not for comedic tone, may I claim.

write burning inside — Write what’s burning inside; but beware of its fuel

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Review of Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino

May 31, 2021

Book Review, Criticism

absurd, book, fiction, imagination, literature, review

So, what should a review of Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino be like? One thing’s for certain: It can’t be like any other review, because the novel (if one may still call it that) is like no other, either.

If that way of describing it sounds familiar, you’ve likely read my review of Confessions of a Mask, by Yukio Mishima. In that review, too, I had real trouble placing the work in a certain framework. Invisible Cities defies characterization. It’s what art should really be like: Focusing on affect, foregoing plot.

With these in mind, it will likely be no surprise to hear that I loved Calvino’s book. But reviews aren’t about what we like, but about why we like them. And so, in this review of Invisible Cities my goal – as with everything else I review – is ultimately to show you what the book feels like, rather than what it is.

review of invisible cities — *Invisible Cities* is a book that defies categorization

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The Smell of Paper: Memories and Experiencing

May 24, 2021

Experiencing

experiencing, imagination, memory

Do you like to smell paper? If yes, I’m sure you find nothing weird about it. If not, you likely think that people who smell paper are weird, or worse. Perhaps you find it weirder, still, to hear that smelling paper is a strong facilitator of memory and, hence, experiencing.

In other words, smelling paper can help you recall old memories and relive past experiences. As we’ve seen before, this is crucial for a writer.

But even if you’re not a writer, recalling and re-experiencing your memories offers a sense of identity, helping you to reflect on yourself. Ultimately, it helps you better understand who you are.

All this from smelling paper!

smell of paper — Paper doesn’t smell like roses. It smells like paper! And it’s precisely this uniqueness that makes smelling paper special in helping us remember

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