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Donald Barthelme, “Not-Knowing,” from Not-Knowing:...

Donald Barthelme, “Not-Knowing,” from Not-Knowing: The Essays and Interviews

The writer is one who, embarking upon a task, does not know what to do… The not-knowing is crucial to art, is what permits art to be made. Without the scanning process engendered by not-knowing, without the possibility of having the mind move in unanticipated directions, there would be no invention… Writing is a process of dealing with not-knowing…

Re-read this essay a few days ago. So many great one-liners:

A writer, says Karl Kraus, is a man who can make a riddle out of an answer.

or:

Am I a masterpiece or simply a pile of junk?

or:

We must allow ourselves the advantages of our disadvantages.

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   hey, that’s my favorite professor, small world

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