Traditions Without Words

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Sean B. Palmer

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Apr 4, 2010, 2:59:12 PM4/4/10
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When you use a word, you use the origins, travel, ownership,
discriminations, and comportment of that word; those are the grounds
whereon the word is built. But imagine if you could craft an origin, a
journey, an owning, the distinguishing marks, and a physiognomy
without then coming up with a correspondant lexical expression.

Take one example where words are used, a not very common one these
days: poetry. We can use words in poetry which perhaps makes these
things most obvious to us, but imagine if a poem consisted of these
things only and none of the lexical utterances and their locutions.
Wouldn't that be more difficult yet more fulfilling?

Dave Pawson

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Apr 5, 2010, 3:26:29 AM4/5/10
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I'd agree with the 'more difficult'.... More fulfilling?
Write a sentence using only vowels. Same level of
constraint?
Use the tools at our disposal to the best effect.

regards

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Dave Pawson
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http://www.dpawson.co.uk

Noah Slater

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Apr 5, 2010, 5:19:51 AM4/5/10
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On 5 Apr 2010, at 08:26, Dave Pawson wrote:

> On 4 April 2010 19:59, Sean B. Palmer <s...@miscoranda.com> wrote:
>> When you use a word, you use the origins, travel, ownership,
>> discriminations, and comportment of that word; those are the grounds
>> whereon the word is built. But imagine if you could craft an origin, a
>> journey, an owning, the distinguishing marks, and a physiognomy
>> without then coming up with a correspondant lexical expression.
>>
>> Take one example where words are used, a not very common one these
>> days: poetry. We can use words in poetry which perhaps makes these
>> things most obvious to us, but imagine if a poem consisted of these
>> things only and none of the lexical utterances and their locutions.
>> Wouldn't that be more difficult yet more fulfilling?

Sounds like a faerietail for words.

Not sure I can imagine what such a thing would look like though.

For some reason, it reminds me of that Tolkien quote I found yesterday:

"I am doubtful myself about the undertaking [of finishing The Silmarillion]. Part of the attraction of the L.R. [The Lord of the Rings] is, I think, due to the glimpses of a large history in the background: an attraction like that of viewing far off an unvisited island, or seeing the towers of a distant city gleaming in a sunlit mist. To go there is to destroy the magic, unless new unattainable vistas are again revealed."

> I'd agree with the 'more difficult'.... More fulfilling?
> Write a sentence using only vowels. Same level of
> constraint?

Not as silly as it might sound...

http://diveintomark.org/archives/2008/02/05/writing-with-ease

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipogram

> Use the tools at our disposal to the best effect.


Sure, but then that depends on what the intention is.

Constrained writing might be a bad idea if you're trying to do a grocery list. Hehe.

Dave Pawson

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Apr 5, 2010, 5:44:45 AM4/5/10
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On 5 April 2010 10:19, Noah Slater <nsl...@me.com> wrote:
>
> On 5 Apr 2010, at 08:26, Dave Pawson wrote:

>> I'd agree with the 'more difficult'.... More fulfilling?
>> Write a sentence using only vowels. Same level of
>> constraint?
>
> Not as silly as it might sound...
>
> http://diveintomark.org/archives/2008/02/05/writing-with-ease
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipogram

OK, I should have guessed <grins/>


lipogram. Nice word.

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