Anne Carson won the Nobel Prize this week, and at my book event in Crozet, Virginia on Thursday, one of the audience members asked me if I could comment on it. I couldn’t think of a single interesting thing to say except that the recognition was deeply deserved and that instead of sharing something wise or beautiful, I’d just repeat her name, because it bore repeating: Anne Carson! Anne Carson! Anne Carson!
So there it was: the reverberation of her name, then a ring of applause for her from this small community space filled with book-loving women and artists in Virginia. Sort of lovely to imagine a circuit of remote celebrations among various cloisters of women around the world, echoing her name.
Later, I laid in bed wondering what I should have said to better honor her, and I thought of an interview I watched of her years ago where she said (in a somewhat curmudgeonly tone) that no one had ever given her any advice on writing, and that her only counsel to fellow writers was “to begin in the middle.” She delivered this and then promptly concluded the interview, no wind-down. In media res, appropriately.
Why start in the middle, I wonder? What did she mean — to literally write the middle of the story first? Then build the rise and fall around you? To begin in an action tableau, all movement and confusion, and write your way out of it? I suppose I intuitively start in the middle of things in my daily writing practice because I sit down to the page and see what tumbles out, no formula in mind.
Regardless, I wish I’d thought of that phrase while at the event because sometimes when you are stuck — while creating, while living — you just need a new approach. Sometimes we feel we need the whole plan in hand, but says who? Sometimes it’s OK to jump right in.
I was reminded of this again while in Middleburg, where I learned that the owner of Middleburg Books, the dynamic and passionate Mary Beth Morell, opened the book store without ever having worked in a bookstore before. She said, ‘It probably would have been a good idea to understand more about it before starting it,’ but — well, she took the Carson way. Leapt into things, skipped the preamble. There are so many ways to become!
Magpies, it bears noting that many of my favorite and most admired friends have pursued squiggly paths in life. They have made career changes and physical moves that make little sense on paper, that don’t – at first blush – appear to fit the resume. They have paused high-powered careers, they have gone back to school, they have uprooted to be close to home or far from it. It takes uncommon bravery and self-conviction to do these things. After all, the universe seems to conspire to keep us where we are, to pin us into our specific places on our specific streets in our specific ways of doing things. Objects at rest remain at rest, etc. The energy required to make a big shift is enormous — and the results will seem despairingly unclear for months, even years. I was talking to one creative entrepreneur this week and she said she simply had no idea what next year would look like, whether she’d still be in her current mode of conducting business, or whether she’d shift into an adjacent space, or whether she’d take a pause. We talked at some length about how difficult it is to fly the plane while building it. The crash risk is high. You get the wings stable and realize you have no wheels to land on. Etc. But she’s flying it right now all the same. She’s mid-flight. A creatively generative space to be in.
Anyhow, cheers to the Anne Carson middles. Cheers to inventing our way forward. Cheers to leaping into things, to the mid-swing, to big air. Cheers to letting there be mystery and magic in our origins and denouements.
Mainly, as always and ever,
onward —
******
Like everyone else, I’m taking a closer look at Carson’s oeuvre right now, and am especially interested in her translations of Sappho’s poetry (Sappho was an ancient Greek poet). The first one I stumbled upon: “He Seems to Me Equal to the Gods.”
“Oh it / puts the heart in my chest on wings” — ! What beauty and genius. The awkward line breaks and convoluted syntax are brilliant, giving you the exact feeling of breathless overwhelm the speaker is enduring.
Sunday Shopping.
+Wore my Donni pants down to Charlottesville and was stopped twice by women admiring them. They really are the coolest pants in the coolest fit. BUT I found a really good look for less for $120! The colors are incredible!
+A new great half-zip from Faherty! LOVE the color options.
+Reminder that today is the last day of the J. Crew family + friends sale – 30% off plus extra 20% if you have a credit card there. I love this short sleeved fair isle and these denim trouser jeans. Both very Veronica Beard coded.
+Trending among Magpies this weekend!
+OMG THIS JACKET.
+I saw this dress in the cutest boutique in Middleburg and it’s been on my mind since…(Look for less here!)
+The boutique also had this spectacular bandana cardigan (looking for a good look for less that’s not $2000!) that I ogled for a good five minutes and several insanely chic knits from Zadig and Voltaire that have me scrambling to study the brand more closely. Vibes for less here, here (use code MAREA10), and here.
+Just wore these shearling lined sneakers for the first time this season to a chilly soccer game! The coziest.
+Wore this dress to my book talk in Middleburg. It’s SUCH a good silhouette and pattern. Loving this striped bib-front button-down and this adorable sherpa bag too. Meanwhile, saw the chicest gal in town wearing their mules around and am tempted to copycat!
+Rag+Bone has a new pair of satin pants!!!
+If you love the Getaway sweater but want something a little less spendy, try this.
+This patterned silk dupioni dress is stunning.
+New colors in one of my absolute favorite everyday totes — the RDV Traversee whip! Especially love the olive green or gray flannel. These bags are perfection. You can wear them as a crossbody / over the shoulder OR hold by the little handles. You can fold them up a little bit using the snaps for a boxier look, or keep them unsnapped for a trapeze shape. They are surprisingly generous in size – hold more than you think.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
Kujten is the way to go rather than Zadig & Voltaire, imho