I am a bit of a romantic. I tend to move through life with
the intense expectation that everything will turn out beautiful, complete, and magical.
And, to me, the notion of a “literary life” is romantic. A life full of
literature can be nothing except beautiful, complete, and magic.
Living a literary life is one of exploration, romance,
thrill, suspense, discovery, heartbreak, and laughter. It also means that each
of these things can be experienced without leaving the cozy confines of your
bedroom comforter.
I have sailed to the
ends of the earth, mapping my journey and embracing the unknown. My ship
cutting through the waves and spraying salt in my face.
I have floated through space, the only thing between the
endless galaxies and me just a thin suit and a glass mask.
I have fought dragons and trolls and ogres and thieves with
my great sword, staving off fiends and saving my damsel.
I have been hundreds of people and explored thousands of
places. My experiences have all blurred together to become this cluttered mix
of reality and fiction. I have learned more about the world from words than I
could ever hope to in actuality.
I used to sleep with books under my pillow. Their hard
spines lifting my head above the ordinary dreams and carrying me into nighttime
narratives only readers can have. My favorite characters leading me through
made up worlds and twisty plots. I would dream up side stories to the novels I
was reading and wake up confused as to why Jane Austen would give Elizabeth a cell
phone or frustrated because Frankenstein’s monster had stolen my car.
Most of my books have stains in their pages. Notorious for
being physically unable to put down a book, I have spilled everything from nail
polish to soup onto and into my books. Their stains and rips and bruises don’t
bother me, however. No spill or drop can maim the magic of their stories.
It’s funny how, if the right words are placed in just the
right order, a story can bring me in so close that I actually lose my grip with
reality. How is it that an author can describe how a character wrinkles their
nose in distaste and, suddenly, I relate so completely with this character and
her story? What is the magic that can make me feel so intensely for a land in
which I have never set foot?
The words of Albus Dumbledore feed into my mystical beliefs
concerning the written word.
“Words are, in my not so
humble
opinion, our most inexhaustible
source of magic. Capable of both
inflicting
injury and remedying it.”
For so long I have focused on the consumption of these words
and stories, but never considered the creation of them. I understand words. I
understand their power. I understand their use. I just hope my romantic
literary life can help me understand their magic.
And I have often asked myself whether I have that same magic
within me.
Your post seemed almost poetic... the way your words flow and the diction you used made it so as a reader, I was drawn in and felt emotion behind the words. I liked your quote, too... it tied everything in quite nicely.
ReplyDeleteYour post seemed almost poetic... the way your words flow and the diction you used made it so as a reader, I was drawn in and felt emotion behind the words. I liked your quote, too... it tied everything in quite nicely.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh! I love how you've thrown yourself into this! I too know the joys of books under pillows, and the dreams they induce. And I agree with you. Books are (especially the ones with really good stories), the purest form of magic that exists. To be ridiculously hackneyed...money cannot buy happiness, but it can buy books, and that is basically the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this!! And I agree with Sage, it was very poetically written. Some of my favorite moments with books have been reading until I physically can't keep my eyes open any longer. I've fallen asleep on top of that book, only to wake up several hours later to the light still on wondering what exactly just happened.
ReplyDeleteYou're so cute! Even though this was an assignment for a class, your writing really drew me in and made me think about the power of words. So (ignore the cheesiness), to answer your last question, I would say that you do have that magic within you!
ReplyDelete