Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Space Between Words

The ultimate concern of the artist is not to paint
mountains and clouds and trees but the air between them.
--Wang Wei




People speak of writing in the space between words. A story takes place within that abyss. People speak—note the white interval. That gulf contains an infinite number of possibilities. Who are these people and what are they saying? Where are they and why are they speaking? Then—who listens? Does silence precede their words?

Between words. So much happens after a word is placed into the white space—so much happens when one word collides with another word. Do we really understand the friction or the ease or the possibilities.

Perhaps there are moments between the spoken words—maybe days. A phone call—mulling over the words heard, attempting to understand their import, and then responding.

Once a man tried to speak to someone who simply said, "I have no time now." Did that mean their conversation was delayed? Or perhaps it meant that no time was right? How to wait in that dimension between words?

While he waited he thought of all the conversations punctuated by uncomfortable silences and began to wonder about the largeness of the space between words. The white space in this story expanded—bloated, swollen with swallowed words.

The writer finds the space between words and scratches at the space until a story is released.

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