STREAM OF THOUGHT
It has been a few weeks since my last post and I've been mulling over several short form articles to post. It is quite challenging finding that so called 'writers' voice. As it is, I have a short list of wineries and people to write about and most often I find myself at odds as to how to present the information in a manner that is interesting and worth reading. I hope to find my way by simply just doing. Let me know what you think as we move along!
READING AND WRITING
In the meantime I've been frequently reading other wine blogs and taking notes on style, flow and content. A most recent blog post by Jamie Goode aka The Wine Anorak talked about the need to read NON-WINE CONTENT in order to maintain and train your writers voice. I believe this to be true, just like anything you have to practice what you preach and keep the mind healthy and in shape. I took this to heart and I've decided to share a few of the books I am currently reading and have most recently read. I feel these books encourage a more thoughtful spirit and in turn will change how I approach subjects and stories going forward…and most importantly they offer an escape inward and outward at the same time!
A Philosophy of Walking, Frédéric Gros
This was a great little book that I have returned to on several occasions. Frédéric Gros is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris XII and the Institute of Political Studies, Paris. In this work he touches on the theme of how many a great philosopher, this book focuses on a catalog of western thinkers, from Rousseau to Thoreau to Nietzsche all practiced the act of walking to move the mind and body to a relaxed state of thought. Only through this urge to walk were they able to come up with some of their greatest works. When was the last time you went for a long walk. Worthy of a read in an age of Uber, Apps, and the need for speed.
Born to Walk, Dan Rubinstein
This book by Canadian author Dan Rubinstein addresses how walking and the decline of walking has affected the body, society, economy and spirit among other subjects. With first hand accounts and testimony about the need to reverse this decline and how walking can repair the individual, bring communities together and empower marginalized groups and people. A great little follow up read to the first book noted here. A current account, in a personal journal style, that can be read as a whole or in chapters based on the subject that relate to the reader. I'll be reading the chapter on Creativity over the next few days.
L'Immoraliste, André Gide
I've spent all my university years reading and writing in French, I hold a French Language and Literature degree from University of Toronto. This is, as I've often thought, perhaps why writing in English might prove challenging for me, or different. I've spent recent years studying wine and translating ideas of wine and hospitality to our the guest in oral communication and less written. So I thought I would get back to reading in French and aim to find a style of writing that feels French though I will write in English. As a student it took me a moment to understand the differences between the spoken and written language, and furthermore there is a literary language that is slightly different as well, mon dieu! Reading in French is my method of getting back to a comfortable place, the pleasure of immersion in a second language. L'Immoraliste is a tale of a very educated man, Michel recovering from tuberculosis and his life with his wife. Set in parts of North Africa to the Salons of Paris high society. He turns his back on the 'codes' of society and gives in to inhibition, to a pursuit of the nature of self, then hitting rock bottom before becoming 'spiritually free'.
I hope this entry was a good read!