Upon seeing a quote from this lecture in Don't Let Me Be Lonely I was intrigued, as I remembered the lecture as standing in opposition to works such as Rankine's. Upon rereading it I realized I was not entirely, but mostly, mistaken about that. I like to think about the lecture as a an unexpected starting point for Rankine's work. I will link to the lecture, but here's an excerpt:
"...if a possible poet is left facing life without any categorical exactions upon him, what then? What is his function? Certainly it is not to lead people out of the confusion in which they find themselves. Nor is it, I think, to comfort them while they follow their readers to and fro. I think that his function is to make his imagination become the light in the minds of the others. His role, in short, is to help people live their lives."
Thanks a lot for posting this - I meant to go after the essay when I found the quote in Rankine's book.
ReplyDeleteI also love this excerpt (and agree with it), up until those last bits. "Help people live their lives." Ick.
Isn't forcing your imagination into the minds of others an aggressive gesture? And in its own way isn't that aggression comforting?