Adam Blatner

It occurred to me that this blog may (or may not) be one of my most lasting contributions. I should not assume that it’s just tossed-off nothings, whereas books and papers are real stuff. That may assume that paper-based stuff is intrinsically more valuable and meaningful than “just” a blog. Well it’s true that this blog may be no great shakes, but a somewhat dissonant thought intruded and said, “What if this blog is more you than your papers?” or “What if this blog is more remembered by others than your papers?”

Indeed, I was reminded of the way It occurred to me: The famous poem by Clement Clark Moore,  “The Night Before Christmas,” was considered by the author to be “unscholarly,” not in keeping with his identity. That his main claim to fame in the next century was this poem is ironic, but then, such ironies are common among literary figures: The least may become the most in the public’s eye.

So, though I’m inclined to dismiss such thoughts, this time I allowed them to emerge into consciousness and trans-consciousness—there’s a term I just made up for when we not only think it, but say it so someone can hear it, or write it and know that someone reads it.

Maybe there are other levels: You not only read it, but think about it, or go further, you write back about it, or it stimulates you to think and write. Is this what an “epistolary” published correspondence was, back when all we had was postal communications—pre telephone, pre email??

Well, there I go contemplating again. I must say that for me it’s great fun, adds depth and texture to life. It’s a game: Can I translate my reactions to life’s events into a readable format? And since it’s obvious I can, will this be of any interest or aesthetic pleasure or even thought-provoking to others? Well, that depends on you, doesn’t it now?