“We don’t need great writing to tell us that obviously amazing things are amazing, just as we don’t need high-powered telescopes to tell us that the sun is warm. What we need from great writing, most urgently, is an understanding that the mundane itself—snails, fireplaces, shrubs, pebbles, socks, minor witticisms—is secretly amazing.”
– Annie Dillard
I’m reading The Abundance: Narrative Essays Old and New
I completely just scooped up the Annie Dillard quote for a post i wrote, tiny one, but did link back here to give you credit… 🙂 Happy Rainy Spring Day!
I thought of you when I saw that collection was out!
This is perfect. I also think I need to grab this book.
Indeed. I think you have helped me, through your writing, to do this very thing. I look up more. I stop more. I cherish the mundane more. xoxo
Just finished The Abundance myself and reveled in the memories of reading all those words the first time. A Dillard Day indeed!
Thank you for the book recommendation and the nod to the blog, Calm Things.
Love. ???? I’m picking up this book. Thanks!
Oh, yes. I love that she says, “What we need from great writing…” because there is meaty truth in the idea that we gain things when we read, it isn’t simply passing time or escape; it is discovery. xo
“A Dillard day” — I like that!
Many of them are!