I spent a very happy day in there about 15 years ago and fragments of one painting have stayed with me and I cannot remember what it was called or who painted it. Maybe you saw it - as far as I remember it was a small group of people, a princess/queen and some soldiers out in the countryside somewhere, a couple of centuries ago. I think they were carrying a coffin with them, and I think the idea was that the queen/princess had been driven mad by the death of her husband and was carrying his coffin around with her. Very haunting. Don't suppose you noticed it?
I just came from Madrid, where I visited the Reina Sofia museum after 20 years. 90% of Miro's works were nowhere to be seen, and no employee could tell me where to find them. Didn't walk out of there a happy person.
I spent a very happy day in there about 15 years ago and fragments of one painting have stayed with me and I cannot remember what it was called or who painted it. Maybe you saw it - as far as I remember it was a small group of people, a princess/queen and some soldiers out in the countryside somewhere, a couple of centuries ago. I think they were carrying a coffin with them, and I think the idea was that the queen/princess had been driven mad by the death of her husband and was carrying his coffin around with her. Very haunting. Don't suppose you noticed it?
Oh my goodness. That's it! How wonderful. And so I had the wrong museum - I had spent the day before there. Thank you so much. What a stunning, and mystifying, image. Thank you!
Spain, or parts of it at least, are magical. Madrid was just so exciting. I'd love to go back. But my Spanish is close to zero, sadly, so I don't want to do it without a local guide.
I agree entirely. It's why I use pro writing aid and sometimes I accept the change when it flags my passive voice and sometimes I reflect it. If using passive voice changes the emphasis of the sentence then I chose to break that rule.
Not that I'm a prize winning author, far from it, I'm still learning a lot from fixing my grammar but what I meant by my rambling is that I empathise with your article 😊
Ksenia, please don't give up the groups; we need people like you. At least, people like me need people like you.
I struggle to understand literary posturing. It's as if the writer wanted admiration without understanding that you have to deliver to an audience what they want to read, what satisfies them, not the next big thing. Story, for example. Something to care about that makes it appealing to turn the page. I know people who are impressed by, 'a true story,' or 'based on a true story.' I have come to believe that any narrative that engages us, then at some point satisfies us is 'true' whether it happened in the world or not. Sometimes, it's truer if it didn't happen. If it engages us, if it delivers an experience that enriches our lives, even if only for a moment, I'm OK with calling it art.
I write first for me. I have to. It's the only place I can start. It may not be important to you, but if it's not important to me, how can I write about it and why should I? But! ...If it doesn't resonate with others, engage and then satisfy them in some way, then whatever the accomplishment of expressing what I wrote, I haven't connected broadly enough with the human experience. To be true, it's gotta be true for more people than just me, even if I started out writing for myself.
Sometimes people do wonderful things when they color outside the lines. The lines are there to guide us, not to limit us. It'll look more like a rabbit if I color inside the lines, but if I have a vision that takes me outside the lines, and I can realize that vision for me and my readership then I have accomplished something noteworthy, maybe even worth admiring. I don't like calling the guidelines of our craft 'rules,' I prefer principles. The skillful can sometimes bend them or abandon them with a good result, but nothing's broken---they're still principles---guidelines.
I'm so sorry for not replying to this beautiful comment earlier. This was my book release week back home, and it's been frantic.
I believe that literary posturing, like all other types of posturing, comes from deep insecurity. It is also my unwavering belief that good art is honest. It comes from the heart and the gut of its author. When you write from the gut, even if it doesn't connect with readers, it's going to be an authentic piece of art, and you will be at peace with yourself. If you write for posturing, it will never be the truth.
That's not good. Poor old Miro!
I spent a very happy day in there about 15 years ago and fragments of one painting have stayed with me and I cannot remember what it was called or who painted it. Maybe you saw it - as far as I remember it was a small group of people, a princess/queen and some soldiers out in the countryside somewhere, a couple of centuries ago. I think they were carrying a coffin with them, and I think the idea was that the queen/princess had been driven mad by the death of her husband and was carrying his coffin around with her. Very haunting. Don't suppose you noticed it?
We do not see enough Miro these days. So that’s good. Also loved the post - dynamic prose- propels you along!
Thank you very much!
I just came from Madrid, where I visited the Reina Sofia museum after 20 years. 90% of Miro's works were nowhere to be seen, and no employee could tell me where to find them. Didn't walk out of there a happy person.
That's not good. Poor old Miro!
I spent a very happy day in there about 15 years ago and fragments of one painting have stayed with me and I cannot remember what it was called or who painted it. Maybe you saw it - as far as I remember it was a small group of people, a princess/queen and some soldiers out in the countryside somewhere, a couple of centuries ago. I think they were carrying a coffin with them, and I think the idea was that the queen/princess had been driven mad by the death of her husband and was carrying his coffin around with her. Very haunting. Don't suppose you noticed it?
I think you might be referring to a painting at the Prado, and not Reina Sofia: Doña Juana la Loca. It was painted by Francisco Pradilla y Ortiz.
Is this it? https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/juana-la-loca/74bffb8f-dfd0-431f-88a9-eed8cb2b578f
Oh my goodness. That's it! How wonderful. And so I had the wrong museum - I had spent the day before there. Thank you so much. What a stunning, and mystifying, image. Thank you!
I'm so glad we found it :)
Yes, it's quite something, isn't it? Gosh, I miss Spain...
Spain, or parts of it at least, are magical. Madrid was just so exciting. I'd love to go back. But my Spanish is close to zero, sadly, so I don't want to do it without a local guide.
I agree entirely. It's why I use pro writing aid and sometimes I accept the change when it flags my passive voice and sometimes I reflect it. If using passive voice changes the emphasis of the sentence then I chose to break that rule.
Not that I'm a prize winning author, far from it, I'm still learning a lot from fixing my grammar but what I meant by my rambling is that I empathise with your article 😊
Ksenia, please don't give up the groups; we need people like you. At least, people like me need people like you.
I struggle to understand literary posturing. It's as if the writer wanted admiration without understanding that you have to deliver to an audience what they want to read, what satisfies them, not the next big thing. Story, for example. Something to care about that makes it appealing to turn the page. I know people who are impressed by, 'a true story,' or 'based on a true story.' I have come to believe that any narrative that engages us, then at some point satisfies us is 'true' whether it happened in the world or not. Sometimes, it's truer if it didn't happen. If it engages us, if it delivers an experience that enriches our lives, even if only for a moment, I'm OK with calling it art.
I write first for me. I have to. It's the only place I can start. It may not be important to you, but if it's not important to me, how can I write about it and why should I? But! ...If it doesn't resonate with others, engage and then satisfy them in some way, then whatever the accomplishment of expressing what I wrote, I haven't connected broadly enough with the human experience. To be true, it's gotta be true for more people than just me, even if I started out writing for myself.
Sometimes people do wonderful things when they color outside the lines. The lines are there to guide us, not to limit us. It'll look more like a rabbit if I color inside the lines, but if I have a vision that takes me outside the lines, and I can realize that vision for me and my readership then I have accomplished something noteworthy, maybe even worth admiring. I don't like calling the guidelines of our craft 'rules,' I prefer principles. The skillful can sometimes bend them or abandon them with a good result, but nothing's broken---they're still principles---guidelines.
Thank you for this thought-provoking post.
I'm so sorry for not replying to this beautiful comment earlier. This was my book release week back home, and it's been frantic.
I believe that literary posturing, like all other types of posturing, comes from deep insecurity. It is also my unwavering belief that good art is honest. It comes from the heart and the gut of its author. When you write from the gut, even if it doesn't connect with readers, it's going to be an authentic piece of art, and you will be at peace with yourself. If you write for posturing, it will never be the truth.
No apology necessary. Hope your book release exceeds your expectations!