... which involves not just writing out a text, but actually rehearsing it, too, to say nithing of giving the talk - it all takes a lot out of one, especially if you have to head to the office afterwards. The talk I gave this morning went very well, principally because the audience was wonderful. But I am weary. So that's it for blogging tonight. I'm going to finish reading Understanding the Present.
I spoke at the Friday Forum of Temple University's Temple Association of Retired Persons. It was a full house and a great audience, very bright, incisive questions - in fact, as is usually the case, the Q&A was the real highlight of the event. The topic was the fine art of reading, about which I have spoken before, but always find I have something new to say. The main point this time was that reading is not only life-enhancing, but life-sustaining.Why? Because it is you who do the imagining as you read. And in order to do that imagining you have to draw on your experience of life. So you are made aware anew - even if only subliminally - of your experience and life and how they are connected. You can't read a great author like Tolstoy without seeing the world and life more clearly and deeply. That enhances your life, enabling you to enjoy it more. And the more you enjoy life, the more vitality you find you have.
ReplyDeletesHear, hear. Couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteGlad the talk went well, Frank.
Frank is a fabulous speaker. He once gave a talk on humor writing to a class I was teaching on magazine writing (back in my college prof. days) and he had the students rolling in the aisles. Bright as Frank shines here on the page, you really have to see him in person to appreciate his wit and intelligence. Indeed, he has amazingly expressive eyebrows and, obviously, you can't see them on the page. Frank's eyebrows alone warrant a face-to-face conversation with him.
ReplyDeleteAnd, my point? Come to Philly, fans of Frank's blog. I, if not Frank himself, am likely to be unemployed soon (see earlier posts about goings-on at our newspaper) -- with lots of time to show visitors the sights (the free ones, anyway!).