Thanks Chris. I have a great deal of confidence writing non-fiction. Been doing it for years. But something this personal is new to me and I was unsure and afraid it might not be acceptable You and a few others have given me sufficient confidence to try sending it to a few agents and/or editors -- after a final editing and cleanup. Once I put it up on the web, of course I found all sorts of mistakes.
Thanks again. /e On Apr 29, 12:47 pm, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote: > Because it strikes me as a Steinbeckian narrative, if old John wrote > first person. It has a depression era feel to it, and is descriptive > and personable enough to taste the dirt and blood. > > In short, it has a voice, and that's what good writing is all about, to me. > > On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 1:53 PM, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > > > "... On Apr 22, 7:00 pm, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> > > wrote: ..." > > >> I think it's bloody brilliant, Gruff. > > >> >2009/4/22 gruff <[email protected]>: > > >> > I'd really like for you and some of the others would read this first > >> > installment of my autobio and give me your truth about it? > > > I'd like to collectively thank all of you who read Boys_Town and > > commented on it. I'm sure you've all recognized parts of it from > > small bits and pieces I experimented with when appropriate here on > > Mind's Eye. I assure you it is all true to the best of my recall > > notwithstanding any denial or blindness which may have occurred. > > > Chris, thanks for the exuberant acclaim. It gave my soul a shot of > > joy. But I'd like to probe further. Can you tell me why you thought > > it so? > > > Tinker, I don't feel extraordinary for the most part, though I admit > > to extraordinary moments which have mostly occurred in my later > > years. Yeah, it was a tough way to come up but there are others who > > have had it much tougher and done better. I'm hoping this auto will > > be my magnum opus and if it does nothing else but to enlighten some > > parents and relatives to the sometimes disastrous effect they can have > > on their children, then I'll be pleased. > > > Francis, I hope you have a lot of patience. It's taken me a year or > > more to get that first installment borne. Thanks for your kindness. > > I admit to the occasional courage this trip has taken but for the most > > part I was simply following a destiny of sorts. In spite of all the > > shit that was put into my head and soul as a child, I had a survivor > > mentality and that and getting away from that family at a young age -- > > has probably been the most contributory to my current condition. > > > But as I said, it's a form of self-fulfilling destiny. One of the > > mindsets my childhood instilled in me was that everything that went > > wrong in my life was my fault and no one elses. Mix that with a > > blended heritage of catholic and jewish guilt and the only possible > > result is introspection and honesty with myself. But the path to that > > end is twisted and begain in pathological lies and self-deception till > > I found those methods usually come back and bite me in the ass. > > > A lot of being bitten eventually led to some self-awareness and > > awareness of the world around me. So while I still find it difficult > > to deal with people on a daily basis I have an abiding faith in them > > en masse. Besides with no god to believe in, what is left but to > > believe in people. We all have to believe in something. It's our > > nature. So yes, it has indeed been a long strange trip. I've often > > felt a stranger in a strange land. Thank you for those four beautiful > > words: honesty, hope, intelligence and humanity. > > > I was hoping Molly would respond because I know I could count on her > > for a thoroughly honest and elegant perspective, especially after our > > last little dust-up. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
