tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post6862153776316083008..comments2024-03-20T16:46:13.343-04:00Comments on Marly Youmans / The Palace at 2:00 a.m. / poems, stories, novels: Pigs and pearlsMarly Youmanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-51579790507990190332013-12-19T15:54:18.092-05:002013-12-19T15:54:18.092-05:00Yes, I mentioned that a lot of writers left it up ...Yes, I mentioned that a lot of writers left it up to somebody else to decide or destroy work. I wouldn't like to be without any of them... And certainly many writers in earlier times didn't publish in their lifetimes. But I think this is rather different. It's the private prayers of a very young woman.<br /><br />That said, there are some good arguments in the second post in favor of Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-49529089849991083912013-12-19T14:32:14.728-05:002013-12-19T14:32:14.728-05:00I have not read the book, so I can't say how I...I have not read the book, so I can't say how I feel about it, but we would do well to remember that Franz Kafka wanted his stories burned!<br />I for one am glad they weren't.<br />Robbi N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04881145195435485238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-76594357628015227252013-12-19T08:04:58.119-05:002013-12-19T08:04:58.119-05:00Excellent points! Yes, I feel the first one pretty...Excellent points! Yes, I feel the first one pretty strongly, though I've seen some good arguments in favor of the journal on several facebook threads linking to it.<br /><br />I tend to think that an author's control over what should be published should continue after death. Exceptions should include consideration of what's on the desk at the time (as in "Billy Budd.") Also,Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-78094140745030877342013-12-19T01:54:52.304-05:002013-12-19T01:54:52.304-05:00Not to mention "…when thou prayest, enter int...Not to mention "…when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Public prayer can't help but give off an odor of ostentation, which in this case is unfair to the petitioner.<br /><br />That said, the posthumous publication or release of any material to Death Zenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16373723664062526406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-65141677199348829592013-12-18T14:52:01.768-05:002013-12-18T14:52:01.768-05:00Hi Marja-Leena--
We both commented at 2:48--nice ...Hi Marja-Leena--<br /><br />We both commented at 2:48--nice to think we were in each other's heads at the same time! That is a good quote. All of her "Mystery and Manners" essay collection is so quotable! And wouldn't it be lovely to have more people who wish to take that kind of trouble?Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-22365088678476758732013-12-18T14:48:35.082-05:002013-12-18T14:48:35.082-05:00Excellent! Of course, as an artist I particularly ...Excellent! Of course, as an artist I particularly love the last quote and the last paragraph as applied to art. marja-leenahttp://www.marja-leena-rathje.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-16220626896609116492013-12-18T14:48:16.324-05:002013-12-18T14:48:16.324-05:00Ah, you made me say it! I had barely thought about...Ah, you made me say it! I had barely thought about it before--saw that one article and moved on.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-62947755002751573032013-12-18T14:10:43.395-05:002013-12-18T14:10:43.395-05:00Amen! You have said it all better than I could hav...Amen! You have said it all better than I could have. Indeed, O'Connor's stories are her parables--accessible to some but not others (and I wonder at times about the group to which I belong)--but her private prayer journal should have been off-limits to all. Publication profanes the sacred, personal, private communication between a young woman and her God.R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-23426038057200544632013-12-18T13:48:54.002-05:002013-12-18T13:48:54.002-05:00Yes, there's a lot of scorn and belittlement f...Yes, there's a lot of scorn and belittlement for sacred things in the world, but perhaps that only makes those who cherish them more intent on what they do. I feel precisely as you do about the journal; I won't read it.<br /><br />Leaving out the sacred can't help but weaken our arts, Yet scorn is quite common among artists of all sorts.<br /><br />I expect that I would have done the Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-85535654996258325112013-12-18T12:14:37.553-05:002013-12-18T12:14:37.553-05:00Well said, and thanks for saying it. People laugh ...Well said, and thanks for saying it. People laugh at (or are perhaps embarrassed by) the idea of the sacred, turning the whole world into the profane. I am curious, admittedly, about O'Connor's prayer journal, but as she followed Christ's injunction to pray in her closet and not on the street corner, I will not tear open the door to that closet. As you say, I'm not the intended scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.com