Language, a principally left-hemisphere function, tends, as Nietzsche said, to 'make the uncommon common': the general currency of vocabulary returns the vibrant multiplicity of experience to the same few, worn coins. Poetry, however, by its exploitation of non-literal language and connotation, makes use of the right hemisphere's faculty for metaphor, nuance and a broad, complex field of association to reverse this tendency. 'Poetry', in Shelley's famous formulation, 'lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar... It creates anew the universe, after it has been annihilated in our minds by the recurrence of impressions blunted by reiteration.' - Iain McGilchrist, The Master And His Emissary
I feel the resonance you’re pointing to. this capacity of language, when it loosens its grip on utility, to "reopen" perception rather than explain it.
What I’m exploring here lives very close to that edge I think.Where words don’t replace experience, but stay porous enough to let it breathe.
And yes, language itself can feel like a constriction when trying to speak of being, relating, feeling, experiencing. Even, or perhaps especially? as a multilingual, I still find myself reaching for new vocabulary, finer nuances, and imagery.
It can feel as frustrating as it is marvellous at times, or both at once.
This doesn’t feel like an announcement.
It feels like an opening.
The kind that asks us to stay with complexity instead of rushing to clarity.
I’m grateful for that.
Opale, Merci. Welcome to the Field. It's open, alive, ever-evolving. Like the living beings we are.
So so grateful for your shared feeling 🙏🏻. This account is meant to be in service of our aliveness. ☀️
Language, a principally left-hemisphere function, tends, as Nietzsche said, to 'make the uncommon common': the general currency of vocabulary returns the vibrant multiplicity of experience to the same few, worn coins. Poetry, however, by its exploitation of non-literal language and connotation, makes use of the right hemisphere's faculty for metaphor, nuance and a broad, complex field of association to reverse this tendency. 'Poetry', in Shelley's famous formulation, 'lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar... It creates anew the universe, after it has been annihilated in our minds by the recurrence of impressions blunted by reiteration.' - Iain McGilchrist, The Master And His Emissary
Thank you for this reflection...
I feel the resonance you’re pointing to. this capacity of language, when it loosens its grip on utility, to "reopen" perception rather than explain it.
What I’m exploring here lives very close to that edge I think.Where words don’t replace experience, but stay porous enough to let it breathe.
And yes, language itself can feel like a constriction when trying to speak of being, relating, feeling, experiencing. Even, or perhaps especially? as a multilingual, I still find myself reaching for new vocabulary, finer nuances, and imagery.
It can feel as frustrating as it is marvellous at times, or both at once.
I’m grateful you named that dimension.