Unity - 20 January 2021 - Plague Journal Day 314

Micah 6:8
Daniel 5:1-9,17,23-28
Ecclesiastes 12:11-13
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

No, not national unity (that would be great, but I think we'll have to hope for that at some later date). Instead, as (not quite) promised yesterday, I'm going to look at Edgar Allan Poe's theory of writing - that there should be a Unity of Effect in a composition.

One of the consequences of his ideas is that short stories are superior to novels or other longer works, simply because reading them in one sitting means getting the full effect of the words - and that without the dilution of real world happenings which eventuate between reading sessions of a longer work.

I see his point. I think he's wrong, but I see his point. 

Maybe I'm just a really good reader and am able to re-immerse myself in a novel after having put it down for a time. That's probably true (I do practice reading a lot, so I should be good at it by now), but I think it's also down to the writing involved. There are novels I've read where I see Poe's objection writ large in every pause I take. Then there are novels where within the first few words back at it I'm fully engaged and drawn into the story. The latter ones tend to have much more "superfluous" matter - beautiful language, vivid descriptions, extra subplots, even a plot cul de sac here and there. In sum, the ones with which I can most easily re-engage are the ones most different from the short story style of writing - the ones that are most obviously "novels" per se.

To sum up (not that there was a lot to go through above), I think Poe was exactly right in his prescription for writing short pieces; but I also think that by saying this doesn't work for longer works, and thus longer works are inferior, he simply betrays his own penchant for short stories. Poetry, short stories, and novels all require very different types of language, structure, and development. The fact that the requirements of one won't work for another doesn't mean one is superior to the other, simply that they are different.

As an aside, I note that today is day 314 of our ongoing plague/shutdown/work from home/shelter in place regime. 314. As a mathematician that makes me think of pi, so we may have quiche or pizza for dinner tonight, but it's time to be real and rational, as this illustration indicates.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.