GG - 32 Short Films comments

["Anne M. Marble" <amarble@sff.net>]

Good morning, F-Minorites? (F-Miners?) Or good afternoon, or good evening,
depending on where you are located. Kate sent this message to me yesterday
and asked me to go ahead and send it to the list, along with my comments.

From: Kate Clunies-Ross <katecluniesross@hotmail.com>


> Your remarks about ecstasy interested me. I sometimes find it strange
>that GG referred to himself as "the last Puritan" and is said to have been
> uncomfortable with overt demonstrations of emotion, when he himself
>evinces such an intense aura of passion and sensuality when he
>plays....not only in his face (with eyes closed) but with his hands and
>the movements of his body. Yes: you could term this sexual (if you
>don't adopt too narrow a definition of the word) and in fact I seem
>to remember seeing a remark made by some critic to the effect
>that when he played, the intense "eroticism" he displayed was
>almost embarrassing for the onlookers (Wow! - so maybe thats
> the real reason he gave up playing in public! Sorry. If I appear to be
> making fun, I assure you its with great affection!) Actually, although I
> havent seen much of Gould playing, I dont find it embarrassing at all. I
> think it is really rather beautiful. To me, and from his writing I
>believe GG would agree, the search for 'ecstasy' is a very important human
> concern... by 'ecstasy I mean the marvellous experience of standing
> 'outside' yourself and your normal everyday consciousness, which can be
> induced by emotion, art, love...you name it, whatever has the deepest
> importance to you. "Standing outside" is, I suppose, the original meaning
>of  the word ecstasy anlthough many people seem to use the word in a
>vaguer, fuzzier way. This sort of ecstasy allows you to touch directly,as
it
>were, the reality around you without the interposition of senses and
>mentalsets. It may be a rare occurrence, but I think everyone should
>experience it if  they can!

I think I've "brushed against" this feeling while writing novels. Creating
something can make the creator feel wonderful, in indescribable (well,
almost) ways. Also, the idea of "standing outside" happens to all writers,
I think. This may be tied in to the feeling novelists get when they
suddenly feel as if their characters are "telling" them what to do next.
(That's a sign that you've created good characters. So you should generally
follow the lead of the characters, even if you have to rewrite six
<censored> chapters. <g>)

While in the middle of writing a story, if it was going really well, I
would suddenly get the feeling I get when reading a novel I like. I might
even think, "Gee, I wonder how this turns out!" Then, I realize ... oh,
that's
right, I'm the writer. :-> It's a scary feeling, and yes, maybe a little
embarrassing.

Also, sometimes when I get an idea that makes a plot work out just right, I
get this wonderful feeling. (It usually lasts until I realize the idea
won't work. <sigh>)


> Gosh. I think I'm rambling on here a bit! Heaven knows what sort of
> disapproving response I"d get from GG himself if he could hover invisibly
> over me, reading this as I type it...

Hope you don't mind if I ramble along with you. If I start talking about
writing, look out...

Anyway, I'm sure he's seen more embarrassing things written about him. Not
just on F-Minor, either.

> I dont know the F_Minor list people well enough to guess whether they
>would welcome my meanderings about GG and his quality of ecstasy!
>But thank you for your time, anyway.

Well, I enjoyed reading it. You obviously know more about ecstasy than the
writer from "The Spectator" I mentioned in my earlier letter.


> With best wishes                         Kate
> PS to your PS ....I like the idea of such an SF anthology. In fact I
>started to write a (very) short story about the finding of the Voyager
> GG recording. I enjoy writing but I dont suppose anyone would ever
>want to publish my efforts.                            K.

Maybe the estate should put out an anthology of writings inspired by Glenn
Gould... They could even publish it as an e-book to cut down on expenses.
(Can you tell I've been researching an article about writing opportunities
on the Internet lately?)

AMM