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
Mastery
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.
19 Comments:
Oh yes, this is so true. Just spent a day with an orthopedic surgeon who described the satisfaction of making things knit together beautifully. The look in his eyes was like Auden's description.
A wonderful example. I hope said surgeon is not doing any surgery on you.
I agree. I just love to watch people do what they love to do. Somehow, in the joy of that doing, God's glory shines through.
There's something about doing what we were intended to do that makes us come alive.
By the way, there's an Italian word that fits here: sprezzatura.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/03/sprezzatura.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29
Sprezzatura is a great word, John. I wonder what its etymology is? There's no getting around the spiritual connotations of "vocation."
Anyone care to do a little quick web research to answer that question about the word's origins? Or perhaps we have a learned reader who already knows.
Well, I looked on Wiki, and also found this: http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/sprezzatura.htm
But the emphasis here seems to be to be well-rehearsed in order to look nonchalant.... Hmmmm. Good word, nonetheless.
Let's not let that be the last word. I'll try to check some other sources this evening.
Sprezzatura is an Italian word originating from Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.” – Wikipedia
Good poem. Auden was so versatile. "The Unknown Citizen" is one of my favorites.
That's the definition I was looking for, Jim. Perfect, and thanks for that. I've always thought of that term with a couple of images in mind: Cary Grant making small talk and Joe DiMaggio playing baseball: a cool sense of elan, economy of motion, and all the style you could ever want.
William Butler Yeats: "Long-Legged Fly"
That civilisation may not sink,
Its great battle lost,
Quiet the dog, tether the pony
To a distant post;
Our master Caesar is in the tent
Where the maps are spread,
His eyes fixed upon nothing,
A hand under his head.
Like a long-legged fly upon the stream
His mind moves upon silence.
That the topless towers be burnt
And men recall that face,
Move most gently if move you must
In this lonely place.
She thinks, part woman, three parts a child,
That nobody looks; her feet
Practise a tinker shuffle
Picked up on a street.
Like a long-legged fly upon the stream
Her mind moves upon silence.
That girls at puberty may find
The first Adam in their thought,
Shut the door of the Pope's chapel,
Keep those children out.
There on that scaffolding reclines
Michael Angelo.
With no more sound than the mice make
His hand moves to and fro.
Like a long-legged fly upon the stream
His mind moves upon silence.
Nice. Thanks for that, Art.
W. H. Auden said: “Between the ages of twenty and forty we are engaged in the process of discovering who we are, which involves learning the difference between accidental limitations which it is our duty to outgrow and the necessary limitations of our nature beyond which we cannot trespass with impunity.”
That's a powerfully expressed idea. But then that seems to have been the norm for Auden. Thanks for adding that, Kay. I think you may be a first-time commenter, so a special welcome.
Does anyone know if there is an opposite to that word? A word that means unecessary noises and complaints to make a job seem more arduous than it is?
Nothing comes immediately to mind, but I'll continue to noodle on that a little, as perhaps will others.
Excellent job. Make such work available. Thanks.
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