The gender identity / culture question is so interesting. Yes, I'm sure that's true even though I don't know you. The French have a way of blurring the lines, which I like. However, perhaps it is simply expressed in different ways and gendered 'language' (ie fashion, mannerisms) is more elusive.
Very interesting. I enjoyed Ethan Frome. I hadn't realised that Wharton had written essays too. I think her observation that people who don't have knowledge try to give the impression they do is true of some of the English too. At least, I've met loads of such people in my time! I think Wharton's view of them is very generous- --- I find such people rather obnoxious!
Ha, your favorite keywords! Well, I meant it more in the way that she was restraining herself from saying too much. However, if you haven't read Age of Innocence, maybe go there next?
Delicious selection of words and ideas, Kate. Thank you for sharing some Frost (always something I enjoy) and Wharton, whom I haven't ever read before. I will have to seek out Ethan Frome.
I really like the fluidity of your words on the slopes (and the Pearl Jam selection 👌). "I love you infinity" is a great line!!
I need to put Ethan Frome on my list, you mentioned it in the Black Ice thread, I remember! Regarding France, there is the unpopular opinion that all the great French artists and thinkers are well, they are no more... Is French culture in Crisis? "From Left Bank to left behind: where have the great French thinkers gone?" (old article)
Oh very intriguing. And I guess that’s the vibe everywhere, so maybe as France’s cultural thinkers are more sparse, there are still more of them than elsewhere? Don’t know. Where is it hot? Thinkers/artists were getting hot in HK before…well…China. But I wonder about trends elsewhere or is it just a feeling?
But there are articles aplenty lamenting "The fall of the intellectual" or "The Decline of Historical Thinking" and so forth. Maybe less time on "Social" Media and more thinking is required? Let's think about that. :)
Is the sketch yours? The writing is crystal clear, clean, translucent, it almost vibrates. I love it. France was the cultural capital of the world for a long time. I grew up learning how francophile Romania was over the course of two and half centuries, how it earned to achieve that refinement (as opposed to the, in those times, most despised Balkan and Greek influences). All the national writers were educated in Paris and Vienna. It was such an ideal to get an education in one of these two places.
I'm currently reading Termination Shock and working on a cli-fi short story and a non-fiction article about how we won't be able to save the planet in the next 200 years. Let's see how this goes.
So interesting about the way that cultural capitals drive thought. And is it that they are 'superior' in some way or is it because of economics? It seems to me that the French (and Austrian and Japanese and a few others) have really privileged their arts and culture, even through financial means, that make them such. It's complex and fascinating.
I will check out Termination Shock. Thanks for the rec and the comments!
Kate - I really enjoyed this. The sketch was really interesting to me in the manner which you incorporated multiple forms of media. On the second half, I have heard of Wharton for years but never read any of her works. I will need to rectify that soonest.
What a feast of ideas you've assembled here, Kate. Love the feeling of propulsion you convey im the opening sketch, and what a beautiful final line. I hope your son always carries such an infinite amiunt of love with him!
Also gobsmacked by the Wharton excerpts. If only there were an operation for taste-blindness! I fell in love with Ethan Frome in high school, a tale of loud emotions conveyed through whispers. 💙
Such a powerful piece. Deeply moving. I have never been skiing but your words conveyed the physical, spiritual and emotional elements of it so thank you for that vicarious experience!
As regards Wharton's theory, although I believe in individual autonomy regardless of a person's race, there are doubtless cultural forces that can create attitudes that may have the appearance of national characteristics. In the UK for example I have on occasion encountered a sort of sneering attitude to cultural matters, the idea that it is inappropriate to be interested in such things, a "know your place" kind of attitude. Early on I decided that this was suffocating to the human spirit and was not to be accommodated. I would not, however, say that this is part of the "British character". That said, the great footballer Eric Cantona may be an example of what Wharton may have been alluding to. A French sportsman who wrote poetry and acted in movies. He showed sports fans that it was possible to do it all, and was not inhibited by his status as an elite sportsman. That kind of crossover is probably an efficient way to generate curiosity.
This is a fascinating reflection on culture. Cantona - what a great example. That film by Ken Loach - Looking for Eric - may bridge the French/British approaches to artistry in some ways. Of course, it's too easy to say a whole people are a certain way. I guess it then helps us to reflect on how we want to be as well as those who surround us.
A great post, Kate. With the sketch, it's somehow the image of the snow angel that jumped out at me, a space that seemed to need filling.
I really enjoyed the Wharton quotes. Like, you, I'm not sure how to take them, with the binary opposition between Anglo-Saxon and French culture being just one frontier among a million, as I think your comment suggested. I guess, as is often the nature of these things, she was partly writing about her own culture through a mirror?
Thank you, Jeffrey! Very pleased to share a snow angel in your imagination today.
I think you're right about Wharton and mirrors. She is maybe understanding the complexity of NYC culture which she often writes about and is perhaps more elusive in definition. It's easy to go somewhere and look in a broader way then bring it back to one's own culture. If we are too immersed, we have a hard time seeing trends or norms possibly. I love writing about and thinking about 'culture', but this is always the issue -- that it is much more nuanced than we can articulate with a single paintbrush.
Beautiful montage of engaging with life/nature rushing down the mountain, Kate! Read "Ethan Frome" too young to appreciate, I think; loved "House of Mirth" and found it terribly sad, but also, probably, too young. :)
Love your short sketch, Kate, what a wonderful post. And I love how you have weaved in poetry, music and film into it. Inspiring. Also: Pearl Jam, Release love love love...
With the skiing, I like how you made it sound like you’re entering a flow state, it’s so hard to capture that.
As for France, well, I think I’d come across as a lot more masculine there.
Thanks Clancy!
The gender identity / culture question is so interesting. Yes, I'm sure that's true even though I don't know you. The French have a way of blurring the lines, which I like. However, perhaps it is simply expressed in different ways and gendered 'language' (ie fashion, mannerisms) is more elusive.
Very interesting. I enjoyed Ethan Frome. I hadn't realised that Wharton had written essays too. I think her observation that people who don't have knowledge try to give the impression they do is true of some of the English too. At least, I've met loads of such people in my time! I think Wharton's view of them is very generous- --- I find such people rather obnoxious!
Ha, yes, or her view is creative restraint. I find her subtle subversive pokes and jabs at NY society hilarious at times (in her fiction).
Frome is a much more domestic read with close-ups of characters. Thanks for adding your view of the English, Terry!
Creative restraint? Pokes and jabs? OK, I need to read more of her work. Is there an omnibius or something you'd recommend, Kate?
Ha, your favorite keywords! Well, I meant it more in the way that she was restraining herself from saying too much. However, if you haven't read Age of Innocence, maybe go there next?
Thanks, will check it out
Very much agree, Terry.
“Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.”
- Oscar Wilde
😂
Just joshin', Nathan! Thanks!
😂
Delicious selection of words and ideas, Kate. Thank you for sharing some Frost (always something I enjoy) and Wharton, whom I haven't ever read before. I will have to seek out Ethan Frome.
I really like the fluidity of your words on the slopes (and the Pearl Jam selection 👌). "I love you infinity" is a great line!!
Well, I cannot take credit for the line! It is a five-year-old who lives with me. ;-)
90s grunge whenever I can squeeze it into a post...happy someone will appreciate it!
Thank you for the kind words, Nathan. Enjoy Wharton. She's one of the best.
😆 The five-year-old is very wise already ;)
Yes to the grunge!
I need to put Ethan Frome on my list, you mentioned it in the Black Ice thread, I remember! Regarding France, there is the unpopular opinion that all the great French artists and thinkers are well, they are no more... Is French culture in Crisis? "From Left Bank to left behind: where have the great French thinkers gone?" (old article)
Oh very intriguing. And I guess that’s the vibe everywhere, so maybe as France’s cultural thinkers are more sparse, there are still more of them than elsewhere? Don’t know. Where is it hot? Thinkers/artists were getting hot in HK before…well…China. But I wonder about trends elsewhere or is it just a feeling?
If you look at all the lists, I guess the world supply of fine minds is in decline, there's a steep cliff after 1950 onwards, e.g.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Western_philosophers
But there are articles aplenty lamenting "The fall of the intellectual" or "The Decline of Historical Thinking" and so forth. Maybe less time on "Social" Media and more thinking is required? Let's think about that. :)
Thinking about thinkers :)
Maybe it’s us right here!!
cogito ergo sum... ;)
Is the sketch yours? The writing is crystal clear, clean, translucent, it almost vibrates. I love it. France was the cultural capital of the world for a long time. I grew up learning how francophile Romania was over the course of two and half centuries, how it earned to achieve that refinement (as opposed to the, in those times, most despised Balkan and Greek influences). All the national writers were educated in Paris and Vienna. It was such an ideal to get an education in one of these two places.
I'm currently reading Termination Shock and working on a cli-fi short story and a non-fiction article about how we won't be able to save the planet in the next 200 years. Let's see how this goes.
Yes, the sketch is mine. :) Thank you, Claudia!
So interesting about the way that cultural capitals drive thought. And is it that they are 'superior' in some way or is it because of economics? It seems to me that the French (and Austrian and Japanese and a few others) have really privileged their arts and culture, even through financial means, that make them such. It's complex and fascinating.
I will check out Termination Shock. Thanks for the rec and the comments!
Kate - I really enjoyed this. The sketch was really interesting to me in the manner which you incorporated multiple forms of media. On the second half, I have heard of Wharton for years but never read any of her works. I will need to rectify that soonest.
Thanks a lot, Matthew! Wharton is always there and will offer rich hours.
What a feast of ideas you've assembled here, Kate. Love the feeling of propulsion you convey im the opening sketch, and what a beautiful final line. I hope your son always carries such an infinite amiunt of love with him!
Also gobsmacked by the Wharton excerpts. If only there were an operation for taste-blindness! I fell in love with Ethan Frome in high school, a tale of loud emotions conveyed through whispers. 💙
Thanks so much, Michael! 💙 Yes, my son is full of love. Though he tells me his school friends are tops at the moment. One cannot get jealous. :)
I wonder what Wharton has to say about music? Surely, she has some opinions. The way you describe EF is perfect.
Such a powerful piece. Deeply moving. I have never been skiing but your words conveyed the physical, spiritual and emotional elements of it so thank you for that vicarious experience!
As regards Wharton's theory, although I believe in individual autonomy regardless of a person's race, there are doubtless cultural forces that can create attitudes that may have the appearance of national characteristics. In the UK for example I have on occasion encountered a sort of sneering attitude to cultural matters, the idea that it is inappropriate to be interested in such things, a "know your place" kind of attitude. Early on I decided that this was suffocating to the human spirit and was not to be accommodated. I would not, however, say that this is part of the "British character". That said, the great footballer Eric Cantona may be an example of what Wharton may have been alluding to. A French sportsman who wrote poetry and acted in movies. He showed sports fans that it was possible to do it all, and was not inhibited by his status as an elite sportsman. That kind of crossover is probably an efficient way to generate curiosity.
Thank you so much, Jules! Lovely words.
This is a fascinating reflection on culture. Cantona - what a great example. That film by Ken Loach - Looking for Eric - may bridge the French/British approaches to artistry in some ways. Of course, it's too easy to say a whole people are a certain way. I guess it then helps us to reflect on how we want to be as well as those who surround us.
I must see that film! I think Cantona is marvellous (and Loach of course!) 😍
A great post, Kate. With the sketch, it's somehow the image of the snow angel that jumped out at me, a space that seemed to need filling.
I really enjoyed the Wharton quotes. Like, you, I'm not sure how to take them, with the binary opposition between Anglo-Saxon and French culture being just one frontier among a million, as I think your comment suggested. I guess, as is often the nature of these things, she was partly writing about her own culture through a mirror?
Thank you, Jeffrey! Very pleased to share a snow angel in your imagination today.
I think you're right about Wharton and mirrors. She is maybe understanding the complexity of NYC culture which she often writes about and is perhaps more elusive in definition. It's easy to go somewhere and look in a broader way then bring it back to one's own culture. If we are too immersed, we have a hard time seeing trends or norms possibly. I love writing about and thinking about 'culture', but this is always the issue -- that it is much more nuanced than we can articulate with a single paintbrush.
Beautiful montage of engaging with life/nature rushing down the mountain, Kate! Read "Ethan Frome" too young to appreciate, I think; loved "House of Mirth" and found it terribly sad, but also, probably, too young. :)
I just had an incredible English teacher for EF. I didn’t totally get it but still enjoyed all the details and was hooked on Wharton!
Thanks so much, Troy 💜💜
Love your short sketch, Kate, what a wonderful post. And I love how you have weaved in poetry, music and film into it. Inspiring. Also: Pearl Jam, Release love love love...
Thank you, Victoria! I’m enjoying trying a few different styles and ideas.
Pleased that a few people responded well to PJ especially. The multimedia was fun to experiment with.
That story was like being in a dream. My head on a pillow of clouds.
Thanks, Amie! Trying some new styles. :)
As a Frenchie who writes about the senses, those Wharton quotes are really speaking to me! Merci beaucoup! 🙌
Très cool! Thanks that's really lovely to hear.