authorial voice

and mirror shadows

The writer, aware that the telling of certain stories in the third person might, by another writer, be handled effectively as neat confessionals, sometimes laments. It would be good if she could walk into the world naked, saying “I am that I am!” like some deity.

Having lost belief in selves as focal points some time ago, now she can only watch what happens to her body with uncertain degrees of remove. Having also lost allegiances to what she once might have considered a certain landform of facts like a single continent against a singular ocean, she now thinks that it does her no good to try to figure where any of these went.

Now that any nascent sense of would-be self is gone, memory can also be recognized at some distance, for the fiction it is. Her old ways would never admit such heresy. Once, she tried to say things like “I did,” and “I went” and “this is how it was.”

She is no longer convinced that she has been anyone, anywhere, ever. However, given various expectations of the current milieu, this emerging understanding is going to continue to present certain problems. For now, the writer may decide to ignore these, keeping vigil in this bed in this underground shelter where this pen over this notebook continues to move.

*

First published in Exist Otherwise, January 2023

Author: Stacey C. Johnson

I keep watch and listen, mostly in dark places.

4 thoughts on “authorial voice”

  1. chrisnelson61 – Stourbridge, UK – Chris Nelson was born in East Anglia, but grew up in Birmingham when his family relocated when he was still a young child. After leaving school he studied computing at what was then Wolverhampton Polytechnic, before deciding that it was not a career path he wanted to follow. He retrained as a teacher and has taught in a primary school in Dudley since the mid 1980's. He has dabbled in writing short stories since his youth, but has began writing more seriously since the turn of the century. He lives in Stourbridge with his wife and two children.
    chrisnelson61 says:

    An excellent piece, Stacey; and isn’t this both the curse and the inspiration of the artist?

    Reply
  2. Alz Gusta Presents – Alex Gust was born in Spokane, Washington in 1974, the only child of Auri Gust and Bill Spencer. He was raised by his mother, Auri, from the time he was one years old. He has written several screenplays, Blaze, The Unworthy Ones, The Case of the Misophonia Revenge, and The Break Fast Track with his wife, Angela Gust. They went on to make these into short films on YouTube under their production company, Alz Gusta Presents. His areas of focus are suspense, dark comedies, poetry, and women’s empowerment. While growing up, he witnessed the struggles of his mother in a misogynistic work culture and how she has overcome these obstacles. Because of this, he focuses on stories that deal with womens burdens and he aims to shine light on their triumphs in the face of such adversities. Additionally, growing up with dyslexia made learning to read difficult. However, he sees this as a gift that provided him with a different way to see the world. This is reflected in his writings. He lives with his wife in a small town near Olympia, Washington. Alex continues to craft screenplays, as well as poetry. He also spends time creating oil paintings, acting at local community theaters, and making short films with his seven grandchildren.
    Alz Gusta Presents says:

    I love the irony, and a vicarious nod to Keats, all our names are writ in water

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Discover more from Breadcrumbs

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Exit mobile version
%%footer%%