On writing

So yes, the two senses of good writing are connected in at least two ways. Trying to make writing sound good makes you fix mistakes unconsciously, and also helps you fix them consciously; it shakes the bin of ideas, and also makes mistakes easier to see. But now that we've dissolved one layer of preposterousness, I can't resist adding another. Does... See more

I think writing that sounds good is more likely to be right.

What dance is to movement, essays are to thought

There is a moment in Philip Glass’s memoir, Words without music, when he works as assistant to the sculptor Richard Serra.

“You know, Richard, I wish I could draw,” says Glass. “I can’t even draw a tree.”

“I can help you with that,” says Serra.

“Really? How?”

“I’ll teach you to ‘see’ and then you will be ... See more