A weblog devoted to spurring a conversation among those who use words to varying degrees in their daily work. Hosted by John Ettorre, a Cleveland-based writer and editor. Please email me at: john.ettorre@gmail.com. "There comes a time when you realize that everything is a dream, and only those things preserved in writing have any possibility of being real." --James Salter
I'm a Cleveland, Ohio-based writer, editor and writing coach, with more than 25 years of experience, including stints in Chicago and Washington, D.C. My work has appeared in more than 100 print and online publications, from the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor to local and regional publications. My work has been recognized by awards (including an Emmy) from four journalism groups.
6 Comments:
Shalom John,
I have a different take on the purpose of Art/art. One of my favorite poets, Andre Codescu in his book "The Muse Is Always Half-Dressed In New Orleans" repeats the quote from Georges Braque that the purpose of Art is to disturb.
There is plenty in Nature to delight us without creating more. The disturbing, however, is too rare; and that is what makes us think.
B'shalom,
Jeff
Man, Jeff, have you hit a nerve with his name. He is simply one of the most wildly wonderful essayists working in the English language. His periodic essays on NPR are some of the best free-form flights of fancy I've ever heard, though always with a deeper point. And that wild accent sure doesn't hurt.
All true, but did you read Deborah Soloman's interview with him just after Hurricane Katrina? Talk about sobering.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/magazine/11QUESTIONS.html?ex=1131944400&en=f502a23c459c9243&ei=5070
Btw, John, when I went into hiding to learn how to freelance, the first books I got out where Codrescu's.
Shalom Jill and John,
After Hurricane Katrina hit I looked for two New Orleans voices to speak: Andre Codresu and Anne Rice. Both more than satisfied.
B'shalom,
Jeff
Jill, that's pretty wild that you used him as a textbook. Shows you have excellent taste. And thanks for that link. I'm awfully glad you came out of hiding. The results have been impressive, but I know the best is yet to come. I thought of you several times yesterday during Michael Ruhlman's spellbinding talk at CSU. You'll have to catch him talk sometime (better yet, I hope you've read at least one or two of his books). It's a master's-level course on how to do literary journalism.
Daniella darling, I don't believe I ever came across that documentary. But now I'll be sure to track it down. Thanks for adding your two bits to this impromptu Andrei Codrescu fan club. Wouldn't it be fun to try to lure him to town? I'll watch for his next book, and maybe we can wangle his publisher into adding a stop in Cleveland to his book tour.
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