Mostly what I try to do lately is emulate the compassion, wisdom and grace that George exhibits in his posts and interviews. And from the comments sections over the past year or so, and very much over the past week, I think I'm not the only one... Writing? Sure, I'm trying to get better, deeper, smarter. But life.... I am getting so much…
Mostly what I try to do lately is emulate the compassion, wisdom and grace that George exhibits in his posts and interviews. And from the comments sections over the past year or so, and very much over the past week, I think I'm not the only one... Writing? Sure, I'm trying to get better, deeper, smarter. But life.... I am getting so much better at life through Story Club. Who woulda thunk it? What a gift and surprise. Thank you George and thank Story Clubbers.
That's great to hear. I am thrilled to say it. And thank YOU George. You are, I dunno, awesome? A treasure? A pedagogical maestro? The dude? We all so appreciate your generosity and care.
There's a fairly common (it seems to me) conception of "growing up" that implies, simply put, getting tougher with oneself and with others. By following Story Club since (almost) its beginning, I feel I've been exposed to another way of growing. As a writer, as a person. I'm seventy-five, so it was about time.
I echo Kurt's thanks to George and Story Clubbers.
Nicely put John. It has been a learning experience for me too. As an aside, I practiced Aikido for many years and learned there too, in the martial arts, that ‘toughness’ is not nearly as valuable or powerful as empathy.
Tai chi for me. One of those things that does you more good than seems likely before you give it a proper go.
As well as having huge benefits in mental, physical and emotional terms, tai chi also brings a calmness that really helps with writing. Sometimes it's tiny details that raise a piece of writing; but it's difficult to see these ripples if there's a storm.
Yes, agreed. We're all better people, I think, just absorbing and contributing to all these thoughtful conversations. This is a remarkable, nurturing space. Thank you to all.
Not to mention, but mentioning anyway, my ongoing attempt to emulate the practices expressed in CONGRATULATIONS BY THE WAY, and instill them in my daughter.
We have a saying here "Kindness rules" that the family tries to live by. Congrats BTW is a touchstone.
And in that regard, this little speech-in-print of George's, (though reflected in much (most?) of his fiction) might be the single most important thing of his I've read. I find myself referring back to the ending note the and actions of the narrator of OFFLOADING FOR MRS SCHWARTZ as the earliest precursor of Congrats BTW in the Saunders canon. And in terms of thematic similarity (though not emulation, I wouldn't say) I think it shows George's affection for Vonnegut's work gloriously.
Mostly what I try to do lately is emulate the compassion, wisdom and grace that George exhibits in his posts and interviews. And from the comments sections over the past year or so, and very much over the past week, I think I'm not the only one... Writing? Sure, I'm trying to get better, deeper, smarter. But life.... I am getting so much better at life through Story Club. Who woulda thunk it? What a gift and surprise. Thank you George and thank Story Clubbers.
Thank you, Kurt - you seriously made my day with this.
That's great to hear. I am thrilled to say it. And thank YOU George. You are, I dunno, awesome? A treasure? A pedagogical maestro? The dude? We all so appreciate your generosity and care.
I think we're doing something special here - sort of a nice, counter-cultural feel to it: we're nice! We respect one another! We read! :)
😁🙏
There's a fairly common (it seems to me) conception of "growing up" that implies, simply put, getting tougher with oneself and with others. By following Story Club since (almost) its beginning, I feel I've been exposed to another way of growing. As a writer, as a person. I'm seventy-five, so it was about time.
I echo Kurt's thanks to George and Story Clubbers.
Nicely put John. It has been a learning experience for me too. As an aside, I practiced Aikido for many years and learned there too, in the martial arts, that ‘toughness’ is not nearly as valuable or powerful as empathy.
This is so true. I practise wing chun and feel that empathy helps you to grow internally more. Great piece.
Tai chi for me. One of those things that does you more good than seems likely before you give it a proper go.
As well as having huge benefits in mental, physical and emotional terms, tai chi also brings a calmness that really helps with writing. Sometimes it's tiny details that raise a piece of writing; but it's difficult to see these ripples if there's a storm.
Yes, agreed. We're all better people, I think, just absorbing and contributing to all these thoughtful conversations. This is a remarkable, nurturing space. Thank you to all.
Thanks Elissa. What a group!
So happy you are here, Kurt. Thanks for this post.
Ditto Mary....
Well put Kurt. I feel the same way - Thanks for saying this. Gloria
Thanks Gloria!
Not to mention, but mentioning anyway, my ongoing attempt to emulate the practices expressed in CONGRATULATIONS BY THE WAY, and instill them in my daughter.
We have a saying here "Kindness rules" that the family tries to live by. Congrats BTW is a touchstone.
And in that regard, this little speech-in-print of George's, (though reflected in much (most?) of his fiction) might be the single most important thing of his I've read. I find myself referring back to the ending note the and actions of the narrator of OFFLOADING FOR MRS SCHWARTZ as the earliest precursor of Congrats BTW in the Saunders canon. And in terms of thematic similarity (though not emulation, I wouldn't say) I think it shows George's affection for Vonnegut's work gloriously.
Thanks for the references!
https://artsandsciences.syracuse.edu/news-all/news-2013/2013-george_saunders_convocation/
Spot on, Kurt! Reading these lessons, I feel I come away a better, more thoughtful person, as well as a smarter, inspired writer!
Spot on. Well said, Kurt.
How many ways to say "yeah!"? You get a bunch here, Kurt.
Ditto, Kurt. Well stated!