Quote of the day

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

I found this quote from writer James Baldwin. I think I might use it to launch a new Firefly fic.

"Love has never been a popular movement. The world is held together, really it is held together by the love and passion of a very few people”.

Comments

[zooey-glass04.livejournal.com]

Woooo great premise for a fic. I LOVE James Baldwin - he's one of my really formative writers.

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

Do you have a favorite writing of his? I am forced to admit that, though I've heard of him of course, I've never read any of his stuff. I encountered the above quote in a biography of Alice Walker that I just finished reading.

[zooey-glass04.livejournal.com]

Oooo you should definitely read him! Giovanni's Room is probably the most famous one, but personally I prefer Just Above My Head and Another Country. Both books deal with racism, homophobia, and religion... which I've just realised makes them sound like the most excruciating 'issues' book ever. They are not at all, though - it's simply that those are issues which featured prominently in Baldwin's life, and he wrote what he knew. They're the most intense, powerful books with extremely vivid characters. When I read them, his life was about as far removed frm mine as it's possible to be - white, straight, British 12 year-old girl vs black, gay, American, adult man of the 1950s and 1960s - and yet his writing really spoke to something in me. He's also a really interesting person - he was very active in the civil rights movement. I highly recommend!

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

When I read them, his life was about as far removed frm mine as it's possible to be - white, straight, British 12 year-old girl vs black, gay, American, adult man of the 1950s and 1960s - and yet his writing really spoke to something in me.

That is the mark of a great writer, when one can reach people in vastly different "categories" than oneself. Thanks for the recommendations -- I will add them to my 'to read' list.

[selve.livejournal.com]

That's interesting--got me thinking. "Movements" are usually defined by what they're against, not for. The emotions that spur people to action are usually fear, frustration, anger, etc. I sometimes wonder how much more could be accomplished if the opposite were true.

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. I remember reading once about a guy who'd been an anti-nuclear activist. He now works in the movement for alternative energy, and he said how much better it feels to be campaigning 'for' something instead of against something.