tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post3866398810631624868..comments2023-10-08T03:36:14.869-06:00Comments on Reflections on the Writing Life: Wendell Berry: Telling the TruthAlice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-479189823001235202012-07-01T17:32:59.038-06:002012-07-01T17:32:59.038-06:00The truth sometimes hurts, but it also gives coura...The truth sometimes hurts, but it also gives courage. Mr. Berry's writings do both. Consider this:<br /><br />http://teachgoodwriting.blogspot.com/2007/10/wendall-barry-be-not-ashamed.htmlAlice C. Linsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-56364338823692042332010-06-14T06:28:28.925-06:002010-06-14T06:28:28.925-06:00I agree, poetreader. In his criticism, Berry doesn...I agree, poetreader. In his criticism, Berry doesn't have much time for "mere realism," the recitation of facts. He is more interested in truth, the sense of the underlying meaning of facts. But he is focused on the particular -- the details of living that are carefully observed and fully appreciated. And as a result, his writing is resonant and, yes, true.Scott Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06465161646609405658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204718322638463179.post-10027077431925546932010-06-13T19:49:56.824-06:002010-06-13T19:49:56.824-06:00Let me just add to Mr. Berry's excellent advic...Let me just add to Mr. Berry's excellent advice that telling the truth is one of the most important things that good fiction does, even the wildest fantasy. Of course it's not all the telling of actual facts. If it's fiction, much of it is not literally true, but if it's worth reading, the invented story is saying something true about the writer and the world he is writing in. In fact it is saying something true about the reader as well.<br /><br />What I mean is that fiction and poetry do not need to be a dreary recitation of literal facts, but they do need to be speaking, somehow, the truth that is in the writer.<br /><br />Yes, read the classics, and you will find not only the riches of language, but also the deep kind of truth telling that good writing needs to show.<br /><br />edpoetreaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613032927883843078noreply@blogger.com