Having read other books in the Abley oeuvre, I am very much looking forward to this perspective on our response to the continuous barrage of information. Mental numbness may be more adaptive than the neurological one in my left foot when I sit with my legs crossed too long. It was great to see Mark’s beatific gaze at the bottom of the post, still recognizable from 1975 when we were students together. Glad you are back in your writing saddle!
Hi Mark; I learned a new word the other day. "Exulansis," the tendency to give up trying to talk about something other people are unable to relate to. I think it's close to numbness, perhaps a precursor to it. I'm sure your book will be an antidote.
I'll be keen to read what you have to say in NUMB. It sounds as though it is the opposite of flow, Csiksmihalyi's description of immersive creative experiences. Is there a cure for this dis-ease?
Wonderful to hear your (literary) voice again. We met, many ears ago, in Montreal. I have one of your books and treasure it. I understand your feelings about the news, and the numbness that sets in almost as a form of self-defence. I haven't been able to ignore the news. Perhaps because I was born in captivity -- no, that's not just poetic licence -- born in the Gulag, three months after my pregnant mother was loaded on a freight train and shipped off to slave labour. I have known our story since, well, forever. And I have also known that Hitler was in league with Stalin when they started WWII in September 1939. Perhaps because of that I have always been aware of "the wretched of the earth," the enslaved, the marginalized, the poor, the weak and have always tried to understand them. But for the same reason, I have always known about alliances of the strong. I know the difference between "a regime" and a people. And I am very aware that the American president, Trump, admires and follows the playbook of dictators, notably the Russian one. And now separatists in Alberta, admirers of Trump, are threatening our peaceful country. Canada is a work in progress, and I am old enough to have witnessed many of the steps in our progress. Sorry about this overlong post. I try to reach out to fellow Canadians who treasure our country, its diversity, its acknowledgement of injury to the First Nations, and its commitment to justice and equality. I follow with interest, and sjpport., of people like you who are inspired to work for peace and goodwill, whether through song, poetry, social action, protest, or politics.
Having read other books in the Abley oeuvre, I am very much looking forward to this perspective on our response to the continuous barrage of information. Mental numbness may be more adaptive than the neurological one in my left foot when I sit with my legs crossed too long. It was great to see Mark’s beatific gaze at the bottom of the post, still recognizable from 1975 when we were students together. Glad you are back in your writing saddle!
Hi Mark; I learned a new word the other day. "Exulansis," the tendency to give up trying to talk about something other people are unable to relate to. I think it's close to numbness, perhaps a precursor to it. I'm sure your book will be an antidote.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Atwater Library event with you and Bryan,
I'll be keen to read what you have to say in NUMB. It sounds as though it is the opposite of flow, Csiksmihalyi's description of immersive creative experiences. Is there a cure for this dis-ease?
Wonderful to hear your (literary) voice again. We met, many ears ago, in Montreal. I have one of your books and treasure it. I understand your feelings about the news, and the numbness that sets in almost as a form of self-defence. I haven't been able to ignore the news. Perhaps because I was born in captivity -- no, that's not just poetic licence -- born in the Gulag, three months after my pregnant mother was loaded on a freight train and shipped off to slave labour. I have known our story since, well, forever. And I have also known that Hitler was in league with Stalin when they started WWII in September 1939. Perhaps because of that I have always been aware of "the wretched of the earth," the enslaved, the marginalized, the poor, the weak and have always tried to understand them. But for the same reason, I have always known about alliances of the strong. I know the difference between "a regime" and a people. And I am very aware that the American president, Trump, admires and follows the playbook of dictators, notably the Russian one. And now separatists in Alberta, admirers of Trump, are threatening our peaceful country. Canada is a work in progress, and I am old enough to have witnessed many of the steps in our progress. Sorry about this overlong post. I try to reach out to fellow Canadians who treasure our country, its diversity, its acknowledgement of injury to the First Nations, and its commitment to justice and equality. I follow with interest, and sjpport., of people like you who are inspired to work for peace and goodwill, whether through song, poetry, social action, protest, or politics.