Monday, June 20, 2011

Adventures in Minimalism


In my original post on the matter, in an essay of brilliant condensation, I said all that needs to be said on the fascinating topic of Minimalism.   However, it’s a rainy day, and there’s nothing good on TV.  So I figure I’ll while away an hour or so saying some more stuff about some other stuff.

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Arthur Koestler, The Act of Creation (1964), p. 339, quotes Hemingway’s advice to budding writers:
     “The more bloody good stuff you cut out,
      the more bloody good your novel will be.”

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The Iliad of Minimalism:  a mock-heroic epic

  We weigh our words
  in careful prose.
  Be one found wanting,
  away it g---.

[* An earlier version of this epic poem ending in “goes”.  But it quickly became apparent  that this was to insult the intelligence of the reader, since the word is implicit in the rhyme-scheme.]

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Minimalism:  Mode d’emploi

WARNING  :   Minimalism can be deadly if misused.
To avoid the swamps of Buddhism, solipsism, atheism, and nihilism,
adhere strictly  -- as in a gale you would grab the mast -- to the blessed doctrine of the Trinity.

(Hmm…  Cantorian Realism…. Trinitarian Minimalism… I’m liking it … possibilities there … )

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