From a book called “Writers on Writing”
10Dec2003 Filed under: Word Mercenary“We write about our life, not to see it as it was, but to see it as we wish others might see it, so we may borrow their gaze and begin to see our life through their eyes, not ours.” –Andre Aciman
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3 Responses to “From a book called “Writers on Writing””
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Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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DA
December 10th, 2003 at 11:52 am
I find this a curious statement. First of all, it probably has a lot to do with our purpose in writing: to convince, know “truth”, discover, etc. Further, if we use others’ “gazes” as objects/tools to shape, we miss one of our best bets to know beyond our limitations. Or am I missing something here?
Ariel
December 11th, 2003 at 9:35 am
I interpreted Aciman’s intent as this: part of writing about your life is seeing it through someone else’s eyes, so that you can gain a sense of perspective and clarity from the outside…even as you’re trapped in the midst of it.
andre aciman
January 22nd, 2004 at 8:48 pm
Ariel has it right! Thanks for the quote. There’s a minor typo–interesting!–but no big deal.