I don't know when "the beautiful" became so important to me. Was it an idea or an experience? Notions of truth came first, primarily because of a religious upbringing, and the good wasn't on my radar for many years, at least not as a concept. But somewhere along the way, "beauty" came along …
The Limits of Language: Love
The substance of that human quality of mind, spirit, and action we refer to as "love" has a hard time landing in a word that even comes close to accurate representation and communication. "I love you" can mean any number of the following sentiments: You raise my level of erotic desire. You call forth …
Imagination and Power
As I launch my research into my next writing project, the burden of the world seems heavy. People are both oppressive and oppressed, you know? Life is a puzzle, a problem, a challenge...pick your word that describes the difficulty of things. It's a war, it's a highwire act, it's a race. But it's also …
Work
Odd that "work" is on my mind at the beginning of the July 4th weekend. You can't study the Civil War without being constantly reminded of slavery, and henceforth, "work." Slavery was about labor that must be performed by someone if crops are to be harvested. As I think about my next writing project, …
How Art Serves
Yesterday, I asked about the service art provides, wondering how to articulate it so that it was somewhat analogous to the practicality of giving drink and food and shelter. My own reflection begins, as always, with another question. What sustains human life? If I mean physical life only, then the answer is food and water, …
JEFF BERRYMAN 