I must have missed that Notes thread on punctuation in dialogue, but that is something I have been thinking a LOT on lately. Leaving it out where I can. Tell what’s said rather than punctuating what’s said.
I’m reading Elena Ferrante right now and she does so masterfully.
Really liked this Kate! I need to check out more Cormac McCarthy - so far I've only read The Road and I think it's sheer bleakness stopped me reading more!
Fascinating to see the contrast in your writing between the free-wheeling sketch and the more measured but equally fluent comments on Cormac McCarthy. At the same time, there's a common thread of a preoccupation with language. I really enjoyed reading you explore the two styles.
Smiled throughout all of this, Kate. The word sketch was so fluid and had meaning that resonated with me. I remember you mentioning the concept of word sketches a good while ago.
Appreciate the return to McCarthy and the discussion of dialogue. Passenger and Stella Marris are on my TBR pile! Thanks for the note on Alexis, too!
I agree with Tom Fish. Cormac McCarthy is too bleak and dark for me. I am intrigued with the idea of drawing in the reader by limiting punctuation, forcing his/her attention.
Right now I'm reading "Demon Copperfield" and enjoy it. I'm rewatching the show "Elementary", a really consistently well done retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories which I highly recommend. I'm currently working on a murder mystery about what happens when politics intersects with principled people.
The Road by McCarthy might be one of the most deeply affecting things I’ve read. It’s the only one of his novels that I’ve tackled though so I have to explore more - you’ve sold The Passenger to me. You’ve got such an atmospheric style.
interests in Cormac McCarthy stem initially from son’s interests but never needed finishing Blood Meridian - ‘term itself long been embedded in myself.. over 1/2 century ago perhaps .. but early chapters of All The Pretty Horses quite special & far beyond in my perspectives
As for punctuation aspects ? Upon troubles settling into ‘True History Of The Kelly Gang’ / gave er arrest a while - till finally turning to original Huckleberry Finn for mucho needed realignment of the condition my condition found it was in.. years later (‘actually’) read ‘all the pretty horses upon finding the copy in birdhouse library in the neighbourhood..
While keeping secrets & endeavouring @ not naming names / pointing fingers - can daily see astonishing ‘literary abuses here - dread repetitive pronoun use - primarily ‘I’ & ‘he & she’ - whether in single sentence / simple brief paragraphs.. oh deary me ! The brief explains by Cormac delightfully effective though !
ps - Robert B Parker’s dialogue the real deal - Elmore Leonard’s Cuba Libre the bomb .. 🦎🏴☠️🇨🇦
Loved reading these two texts side by side here, Kate — one rhapsodic in search of inspiration for the act of radical creation, the other measured and considerate to the intricacies of language.
The variety of approaches you take to your work is exactly what I love about the Matterhorn! 💙
You’re welcome! Kingsolver’s great. Demon Copperhead is a fun retelling that, despite being about serious things, has a humor to it that’s compelling. You should definitely watch “Elementary”! It’s very well written, acted, and directed. In addition Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are instantly engaging (and Moriarty is very surprising!) I’ve seen most, if not all the adaptations and this one is by far my favorite.
"Halfway through, I lose it." Don't we all know this? Blasted muse. Come back! As for Blood Meridian, it's on my list, my long list. And re punctuation and dialogue... who holds prose prisoner in the hallowed bastion of rules and style guides for what reason we know we do don't we?
¡Brava! This is an intriguing meta-sketch. You show how this process of reading and writing can flow into each other. (I’m currently reading “The Weekend Novelist” by Robert Ray.) The piece is assembled as a work of art. Your essays are a geographer’s dream (I teach social sciences, so I can imagine). And this shows how reading and writing can be collective (hey, I’ve heard that word before [!]).
Kate - enjoyed this read. In regards to the first part of your article - sometimes I write for an hour and look back on it and think to myself what the hell did I just write. I have to walk away from it and let it fester in the back of my head before I come back and put it in some semblance of order. Sometimes the chaos is too much.
Love Cormac's works. I have read most of what he has written. I think I four books to go. His writing is disturbing but sometimes we need to be disturbed.
I am reading The Grapes of Wrath for my Steinbeck review. This past weekend I also read two really disturbing books, The Circle and The Every, both by Dave Eggers. I think they should be required reading. Eggers as prescient in his description of where society was heading.
I love a good muse in a cafe with a journal - I wish there were more in our town with a nice quiet vibe, most of them are pretty focused on blah blah. Cormac McCarthy. Jeez. I've tried to read Blood Meridian twice, and both times, stopped at a certain point which was all at once hallucinatory, fascinating and terrifying. It's like the book booted me from its pages. Read All the Pretty Horses, don't remember it. Read The Road, and found it so bleak I couldn't watch the movie knowing that certain parts would definitely be included and that I couldn't stomach them. Let's just say Cormac and I don't click. ;)
Thanks for this interesting post, Kathleen. I'm a big fan of Cormac McCarthy and felt a deep sense of loss when he died. I think his preferred style, using as little punctuation as possible, shows his consummate skill as a writer. I rarely found it a problem reading his words. I haven't read all his work but, like you, I'm going to read as many of his books as I can.
I must have missed that Notes thread on punctuation in dialogue, but that is something I have been thinking a LOT on lately. Leaving it out where I can. Tell what’s said rather than punctuating what’s said.
I’m reading Elena Ferrante right now and she does so masterfully.
Really liked this Kate! I need to check out more Cormac McCarthy - so far I've only read The Road and I think it's sheer bleakness stopped me reading more!
Fascinating to see the contrast in your writing between the free-wheeling sketch and the more measured but equally fluent comments on Cormac McCarthy. At the same time, there's a common thread of a preoccupation with language. I really enjoyed reading you explore the two styles.
Smiled throughout all of this, Kate. The word sketch was so fluid and had meaning that resonated with me. I remember you mentioning the concept of word sketches a good while ago.
Appreciate the return to McCarthy and the discussion of dialogue. Passenger and Stella Marris are on my TBR pile! Thanks for the note on Alexis, too!
I agree with Tom Fish. Cormac McCarthy is too bleak and dark for me. I am intrigued with the idea of drawing in the reader by limiting punctuation, forcing his/her attention.
Right now I'm reading "Demon Copperfield" and enjoy it. I'm rewatching the show "Elementary", a really consistently well done retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories which I highly recommend. I'm currently working on a murder mystery about what happens when politics intersects with principled people.
The Road by McCarthy might be one of the most deeply affecting things I’ve read. It’s the only one of his novels that I’ve tackled though so I have to explore more - you’ve sold The Passenger to me. You’ve got such an atmospheric style.
interests in Cormac McCarthy stem initially from son’s interests but never needed finishing Blood Meridian - ‘term itself long been embedded in myself.. over 1/2 century ago perhaps .. but early chapters of All The Pretty Horses quite special & far beyond in my perspectives
As for punctuation aspects ? Upon troubles settling into ‘True History Of The Kelly Gang’ / gave er arrest a while - till finally turning to original Huckleberry Finn for mucho needed realignment of the condition my condition found it was in.. years later (‘actually’) read ‘all the pretty horses upon finding the copy in birdhouse library in the neighbourhood..
While keeping secrets & endeavouring @ not naming names / pointing fingers - can daily see astonishing ‘literary abuses here - dread repetitive pronoun use - primarily ‘I’ & ‘he & she’ - whether in single sentence / simple brief paragraphs.. oh deary me ! The brief explains by Cormac delightfully effective though !
ps - Robert B Parker’s dialogue the real deal - Elmore Leonard’s Cuba Libre the bomb .. 🦎🏴☠️🇨🇦
Loved reading these two texts side by side here, Kate — one rhapsodic in search of inspiration for the act of radical creation, the other measured and considerate to the intricacies of language.
The variety of approaches you take to your work is exactly what I love about the Matterhorn! 💙
You’re welcome! Kingsolver’s great. Demon Copperhead is a fun retelling that, despite being about serious things, has a humor to it that’s compelling. You should definitely watch “Elementary”! It’s very well written, acted, and directed. In addition Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are instantly engaging (and Moriarty is very surprising!) I’ve seen most, if not all the adaptations and this one is by far my favorite.
Thanks for the reply.
"Halfway through, I lose it." Don't we all know this? Blasted muse. Come back! As for Blood Meridian, it's on my list, my long list. And re punctuation and dialogue... who holds prose prisoner in the hallowed bastion of rules and style guides for what reason we know we do don't we?
Really good piece that provokes my own thought of sketch. Thanks Kate
¡Brava! This is an intriguing meta-sketch. You show how this process of reading and writing can flow into each other. (I’m currently reading “The Weekend Novelist” by Robert Ray.) The piece is assembled as a work of art. Your essays are a geographer’s dream (I teach social sciences, so I can imagine). And this shows how reading and writing can be collective (hey, I’ve heard that word before [!]).
Kate - enjoyed this read. In regards to the first part of your article - sometimes I write for an hour and look back on it and think to myself what the hell did I just write. I have to walk away from it and let it fester in the back of my head before I come back and put it in some semblance of order. Sometimes the chaos is too much.
Love Cormac's works. I have read most of what he has written. I think I four books to go. His writing is disturbing but sometimes we need to be disturbed.
I am reading The Grapes of Wrath for my Steinbeck review. This past weekend I also read two really disturbing books, The Circle and The Every, both by Dave Eggers. I think they should be required reading. Eggers as prescient in his description of where society was heading.
I love a good muse in a cafe with a journal - I wish there were more in our town with a nice quiet vibe, most of them are pretty focused on blah blah. Cormac McCarthy. Jeez. I've tried to read Blood Meridian twice, and both times, stopped at a certain point which was all at once hallucinatory, fascinating and terrifying. It's like the book booted me from its pages. Read All the Pretty Horses, don't remember it. Read The Road, and found it so bleak I couldn't watch the movie knowing that certain parts would definitely be included and that I couldn't stomach them. Let's just say Cormac and I don't click. ;)
Thanks for this interesting post, Kathleen. I'm a big fan of Cormac McCarthy and felt a deep sense of loss when he died. I think his preferred style, using as little punctuation as possible, shows his consummate skill as a writer. I rarely found it a problem reading his words. I haven't read all his work but, like you, I'm going to read as many of his books as I can.