Informative Love Affair
What is your relationship to information?
When initially asked, I thought of myself first and foremost as a collector of information, in the old-lady-with-lots-of-antiques sense of the word. I enjoy information. I’m pleased to neatly stack it in my brain, dust it occasionally and drag it out when the moment requires it. I take great comfort in gaining information and in knowing that there’s always more out there for me to collect. Information is a thing without end.
Then I thought of myself as a collector in a less flattering, slightly creepier sense. I’m (psychotic?) obsessive about it in some ways. If I’m genuinely fascinated with something or someone, I simply cannot. get. enough. I often think of my life as a series of obsessions. And when I’m obsessed with something, I will turn the world upside down and shake it to discover all of the information I possibly can about the Obsession. It becomes a quest, simultaneously sustaining and challenging me. I live for what I love. It’s intense. And the interesting thing is: when my Obsession fades (and I can never tell when it will), it still retains its original vibrancy and glory. Even as I delight in a new obsession and embark on a new quest, I still revisit and adore the old. The information I’ve collected still glimmers.
I also consider my relationship with information to be, to some extent, one of advocacy. Politically, I’m just about as far left as you can go. I have a passion for Women’s Studies and feminist theories, which often shows itself in the kind of information I collect and disseminate. I use what I learn, whether in academia or through another writer’s blog, to educate other people and (sometimes) persuade them to change their thinking. I firmly believe knowledge is power (is that a cliché yet?) and I believe sharing information can empower and enlighten people. Hence, the “About Face” and “Voice Not Bodies” links on my “Good Sites” roster.
Finally, for me, information is (sort of) a form of self expression. This blog, though now dear to me, is not what I would consider my most honest, creative self expression. Creative writing – poetry and short fiction – is where I express myself, where I experiment, where my emotions pulsate beneath the words, where I abandon my shy exterior. (This is not, of course, to suggest it is any good.)
Until this class, I was unaware of the relationship between information and creative writing, but there is one and it's strong. The information I collect, the information I want to share and the information that disturbs, challenges or pleases me always seems to wriggle its way into my writing. Characters, plot points, descriptions, settings, word choices are laden with the information I absorb.
And that’s my story.
When initially asked, I thought of myself first and foremost as a collector of information, in the old-lady-with-lots-of-antiques sense of the word. I enjoy information. I’m pleased to neatly stack it in my brain, dust it occasionally and drag it out when the moment requires it. I take great comfort in gaining information and in knowing that there’s always more out there for me to collect. Information is a thing without end.
Then I thought of myself as a collector in a less flattering, slightly creepier sense. I’m (psychotic?) obsessive about it in some ways. If I’m genuinely fascinated with something or someone, I simply cannot. get. enough. I often think of my life as a series of obsessions. And when I’m obsessed with something, I will turn the world upside down and shake it to discover all of the information I possibly can about the Obsession. It becomes a quest, simultaneously sustaining and challenging me. I live for what I love. It’s intense. And the interesting thing is: when my Obsession fades (and I can never tell when it will), it still retains its original vibrancy and glory. Even as I delight in a new obsession and embark on a new quest, I still revisit and adore the old. The information I’ve collected still glimmers.
I also consider my relationship with information to be, to some extent, one of advocacy. Politically, I’m just about as far left as you can go. I have a passion for Women’s Studies and feminist theories, which often shows itself in the kind of information I collect and disseminate. I use what I learn, whether in academia or through another writer’s blog, to educate other people and (sometimes) persuade them to change their thinking. I firmly believe knowledge is power (is that a cliché yet?) and I believe sharing information can empower and enlighten people. Hence, the “About Face” and “Voice Not Bodies” links on my “Good Sites” roster.
Finally, for me, information is (sort of) a form of self expression. This blog, though now dear to me, is not what I would consider my most honest, creative self expression. Creative writing – poetry and short fiction – is where I express myself, where I experiment, where my emotions pulsate beneath the words, where I abandon my shy exterior. (This is not, of course, to suggest it is any good.)
Until this class, I was unaware of the relationship between information and creative writing, but there is one and it's strong. The information I collect, the information I want to share and the information that disturbs, challenges or pleases me always seems to wriggle its way into my writing. Characters, plot points, descriptions, settings, word choices are laden with the information I absorb.
And that’s my story.
Labels: I'm An Old Lady, Information, Writing
Hi 'old lady'
Your last paragraph summed it up for me. While I may not be obsessive about information, I do consider myself a non-stop learner. And I know more useless trivia than any human should possess. But it isn't the data, per say, that makes me tick. It is the thoughts and ideas that it leads me to.
I bet the writings that hide in your more shy places would be a great read!
And Sara, thanks for the list on your "Good Sites" list! I'm truly honored!
Posted by
Em |
7:40 PM