Thank you for this post! Here are some parts I found most stirring:
Inheritances, general:
- "Distance does this. It makes ordinary objects luminous."
I know this, I feel this, & now you have said it. <3
- "One sees how quickly convenience can flatten memory [...] how casually 'old-fashioned' can become an accusation."
Sadly true. Has it always been? Yes or no, 'old-fashioned' seems to be an easily-grasped-for slur when someone doesn't like something with history (or understand it). Often it takes context to appreciate that which may seem 'obsolete', 'quaint', or out-of-place among capitalism's ferocious drive to produce novelty & increase speed.
Vessels, general:
- "A vessel becomes meaningful through use. [...] Through the way it enters the rhythm of a household. Through what it survives. Through the meals it receives, the hands that wash it, the kitchens it crosses, the children who eat from it."
So much love here.
- "They feel alive because they have lived near hunger and care."
- "They have seen us practical, generous, tired, fussy, impatient, tender, overconfident, corrected, and forgiven. That is a lot for a pot to know."
I feel particularly fond of this one.
Moving odes to clay:
- "Clay belongs at the beginning because clay was here before the metals began their long, gleaming argument with fire."
What description!
- "Clay was here before the gleam, before the blackened authority, before the polished thali, before the pressure cooker whistle, before the induction-compatible base and the dishwasher-safe promise."
- "Clay remembers the beginning. And perhaps that is why it still waits for us so patiently."
Other gems:
- "Enthusiasm, in the wrong hands, has ruined many good things."
Can you hear my wry laughter from here? This is my life: in spurts, loads of enthusiasm... with often overpowering execution. X-D
- "Steel may not arrive trailing ancestral poetry..."
Such a pleasing turn of phrase.
As I encounter more of your writing here, it is so interesting to discover your authorial voice. There's usually one or more portions that meander amiably like a babbling brook. And like all waters - even those that move their flow within the earth for awhile - they find their way. Count on it. Your words also deliver poetic phrases routinely; I appreciate the rhythms you find. Interspersed within the sometimes braided flow, you routinely deliver potent kernels that, as a reader, stop me in place. Sometimes I'm surprised and laughing. Others, just profoundly touched.
Wrapping up, there's nothing as potent for me in this whole essay as: "One good pan can hold a life."
VPep, you lingered with me on so many passages, found your own reflections within them, and even laughed alongside a few of them. This deeply touched my heart. Your note about 'enthusiasm outrunning execution' brought a smile to my lips, and I suspect many of us know that dance rather well. Thank you, as always, for spending so much time with these words and for sharing your own in return. Thoughtful reflections like yours make the writing feel less like sending something into the void and more like sitting around a table with good company. So gratefully, and always happy to find you here 🤗
Very true.
Thank you for this post! Here are some parts I found most stirring:
Inheritances, general:
- "Distance does this. It makes ordinary objects luminous."
I know this, I feel this, & now you have said it. <3
- "One sees how quickly convenience can flatten memory [...] how casually 'old-fashioned' can become an accusation."
Sadly true. Has it always been? Yes or no, 'old-fashioned' seems to be an easily-grasped-for slur when someone doesn't like something with history (or understand it). Often it takes context to appreciate that which may seem 'obsolete', 'quaint', or out-of-place among capitalism's ferocious drive to produce novelty & increase speed.
Vessels, general:
- "A vessel becomes meaningful through use. [...] Through the way it enters the rhythm of a household. Through what it survives. Through the meals it receives, the hands that wash it, the kitchens it crosses, the children who eat from it."
So much love here.
- "They feel alive because they have lived near hunger and care."
- "They have seen us practical, generous, tired, fussy, impatient, tender, overconfident, corrected, and forgiven. That is a lot for a pot to know."
I feel particularly fond of this one.
Moving odes to clay:
- "Clay belongs at the beginning because clay was here before the metals began their long, gleaming argument with fire."
What description!
- "Clay was here before the gleam, before the blackened authority, before the polished thali, before the pressure cooker whistle, before the induction-compatible base and the dishwasher-safe promise."
- "Clay remembers the beginning. And perhaps that is why it still waits for us so patiently."
Other gems:
- "Enthusiasm, in the wrong hands, has ruined many good things."
Can you hear my wry laughter from here? This is my life: in spurts, loads of enthusiasm... with often overpowering execution. X-D
- "Steel may not arrive trailing ancestral poetry..."
Such a pleasing turn of phrase.
As I encounter more of your writing here, it is so interesting to discover your authorial voice. There's usually one or more portions that meander amiably like a babbling brook. And like all waters - even those that move their flow within the earth for awhile - they find their way. Count on it. Your words also deliver poetic phrases routinely; I appreciate the rhythms you find. Interspersed within the sometimes braided flow, you routinely deliver potent kernels that, as a reader, stop me in place. Sometimes I'm surprised and laughing. Others, just profoundly touched.
Wrapping up, there's nothing as potent for me in this whole essay as: "One good pan can hold a life."
Again, brava. <3
VPep, you lingered with me on so many passages, found your own reflections within them, and even laughed alongside a few of them. This deeply touched my heart. Your note about 'enthusiasm outrunning execution' brought a smile to my lips, and I suspect many of us know that dance rather well. Thank you, as always, for spending so much time with these words and for sharing your own in return. Thoughtful reflections like yours make the writing feel less like sending something into the void and more like sitting around a table with good company. So gratefully, and always happy to find you here 🤗