A book (on tango) is a perfect stimulus package
In these times of economic downturns, the sound waves and bites are all about how bad it is, and how bad it is going to get. My favorite line is “we don’t know” how bad it will get or what is going to happen. Like, what else is new? If you’ve been a writer your whole professional life, number one, you’re always living in economic downturn, number two, you don’t know what’s going to happen. Never do. You learn to live in the present through the sheer joy of writing, of entering “kiros” (Greek for participation in time), never much caring about Kronos (chronological time). I can say the same of dancing tango–and have–and will continue. See post, Tango is the perfect stimulus package.
I stood in a bookstore yesterday evening, overwhelmed by the number of books on writing. Only a few make my grade, but that’s a whole other post. I’ll mention one that is timeless for me: Dorothea Brande’s On Becoming a Writer. It’s more inspirational than how to.
If you want to know how to write, I’ll teach you. If you want to know how to become a writer, I’ll . . . finish this sentence when I know the full answer**.
If you want to know how to dance tango, I’ll show you the steps. If you want to become a full-fledged tanguero, I’ll have to set you free.
Anyway, I’d like to push my book as a cheap (about $16) round trip to Argentina. I have been advised of late that to promote my book I need to promote myself as an “expert” in my field. I most certainly could and would love to teach you in these areas of “expertise” (I’m a bit averse to the word, as you can see). I can teach you principles of writing, steps in tango and much of the technique. But, what I would hope for is that you read my book, not just for the content, the trip to tango dance floors, Argentina, the food, the people, the Zen of it all, but also for the sheer pleasure of reading my writing. There I’ve said it.
I used to say “I write” but now I say “I am a writer.”
Please read my book and let me know what you think. It makes a great (affordable) gift for loved ones—and helps the economy of those of us who are always living on the edge. Here’s my plug Tango as a perfect stimulus package.
While I’m on the subject of books, those papery things you hold in your hand and turn the pages, dog-ear, underline, flip back and forth through, here is a link to a list of suggestions for end of year reading (including mine for Mother Lake), compiled by the very astute Erika Dreifus, whose site also has a lot of tips and info on writing, the practice. Enjoy.
