LOVING LANGUAGE...
Last night we went and saw Stephen Fry in his Telling Tales show. I know he's not for everyone but I think he is a very intelligent man, erudite, funny as well as thought provoking. And I was not disappointed in his show (even though he had been given a not so good review for the show the night before).
He has some great tales to tell....which of course comes with being an actor / comic / writer / performer and knowing so many people. Some of his stories (complete with accents, although he still has to work on his Australian ) were very funny, others quite tragic and deep.
I came not knowing a lot about him as a person and really enjoyed the insights he shared. From his school days (wasted really as he was a trouble maker) to his encounters with the law and drugs, and meeting his friend, and fellow comic / actor Hugh Laurie.
But what I loved was when he talked about his discovery, and soon to be passion, with language.
He was 12 and he had just read this amazing book (borrowed from the mobile library I must state!)
He walked around telling the housekeeper, his mother, anyone that would listen 'I hope I shall not offend you if I state quite frankly and openly that you seem to me in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection"
Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest, of course. He soon devoured any of Wilde's work that he could find, then he went on to other authors of the same era....and so his love of language evolved.
Before then he didn't know that language could be so vivid, so intoxicating. That words, simple words could entice the tongue, make love in your mouth, could be so much more than the words they began as.
'As a writer you take these words, often simple words, then you create...you make them your own.'
This struck me. That's what we do, or we try to do. We take the everyday and we make it ours. We claim it, put our own personality, our own stamp on it.
There is nothing new in the world. Concepts, themes, plots....all been done before. Even the language won't change (unless we want to be like Shakespeare and invent our own words).
But it is what we do with it that is new. This is what is exciting.
This is what makes us write.
Vicki
He has some great tales to tell....which of course comes with being an actor / comic / writer / performer and knowing so many people. Some of his stories (complete with accents, although he still has to work on his Australian ) were very funny, others quite tragic and deep.
I came not knowing a lot about him as a person and really enjoyed the insights he shared. From his school days (wasted really as he was a trouble maker) to his encounters with the law and drugs, and meeting his friend, and fellow comic / actor Hugh Laurie.
But what I loved was when he talked about his discovery, and soon to be passion, with language.
He was 12 and he had just read this amazing book (borrowed from the mobile library I must state!)
He walked around telling the housekeeper, his mother, anyone that would listen 'I hope I shall not offend you if I state quite frankly and openly that you seem to me in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection"
Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest, of course. He soon devoured any of Wilde's work that he could find, then he went on to other authors of the same era....and so his love of language evolved.
Before then he didn't know that language could be so vivid, so intoxicating. That words, simple words could entice the tongue, make love in your mouth, could be so much more than the words they began as.
'As a writer you take these words, often simple words, then you create...you make them your own.'
This struck me. That's what we do, or we try to do. We take the everyday and we make it ours. We claim it, put our own personality, our own stamp on it.
There is nothing new in the world. Concepts, themes, plots....all been done before. Even the language won't change (unless we want to be like Shakespeare and invent our own words).
But it is what we do with it that is new. This is what is exciting.
This is what makes us write.
Vicki
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