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Why We Write: Finding Solace and Resistance in Words

M.J.library 2nd Sept 2019
                    In recent developments, now that the world has collectively decided to descend into total anarchy, and while the freedom of expression is reduced to a joke, I often think about the role of writing, does writing really help? why must we write?.
             I write to release my often complex and convoluted thoughts, it provides an effective source of grounding and stress release, and it's kind of like taking a burden off my shoulders. Honestly, if you are reading 6-7 hours daily and barely talk to anyone in your 24-hour schedule, if it goes on for long enough anyone would start to write something, the constant reading messes with your mind. writing is the only thing that can keep you sane at that point.
             In his iconic poem 'Ode to a Nightingale', John Keat writes "My heart aches and drowsy numbness pains".I wonder if language is an enabler or often imperils the expression of heartache and the real numbness that Keats mentions in his poem. Is there a language for distress? or do we invent or find new registers for it? how do we really write about distress? if writing doesn't help contain the problems then why write at all?, looking to resolve my dilemma, I turned to the novels of Toni Morrison, much-loved author, and recently deceased Nobel laureate, Morrison was a peerless humanitarian, her life was devoted to writing about her many struggles and agony.
                   At the heart of writing, one finds intensely humane stories, stories of people struggling to live a life of dignity. Mahasweta Devi who relentlessly fought and wrote for tribals and their rights, some authors like her and their writings taught us to resist. Writing itself is an act of resistance. In one's life, there are moments of self-doubt and trepidation, in such moments one turns to write to seek answers. A close friend once told me, "if not now, maybe all that is being written will find an audience later. But write we must, without thinking of immediate gains, persist we must."

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