paul auster
The world can never be assumed to exist. It comes into
being only in the act of moving towards it. Esse est
percipii. Nothing can be taken for granted: we do not
find ourselves in the midst of an already established
world, we do not, as if by preordained birthright,
automatically take possession of our surroundings.
Each moment, each thing, must be earned, wrested
away from the confusion of inert matter by a steadiness
of gaze, a purity of perception so intense that the effort,
in itself, takes on the value of a religious act. The slate
has been wiped clean. It is up to the poet to write his
own book.
being only in the act of moving towards it. Esse est
percipii. Nothing can be taken for granted: we do not
find ourselves in the midst of an already established
world, we do not, as if by preordained birthright,
automatically take possession of our surroundings.
Each moment, each thing, must be earned, wrested
away from the confusion of inert matter by a steadiness
of gaze, a purity of perception so intense that the effort,
in itself, takes on the value of a religious act. The slate
has been wiped clean. It is up to the poet to write his
own book.