Putting it into Words

Yesterday, I found a precious little book by poet Mark Doty called The Art of Description. Read the first chapter this morning which ended (the chapter, not the morning) with this:

"The need to translate experience into something resembling adequate language is the writer's blessing or the writer's disease, depending on your point of view. That's why Whitman [in his poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking] isn't sure if what sings in him is a demon or a bird. It is indeed a symptom of a problem, of life not having been really lived until it is narrated, at least that's a condition that winds up giving real gifts to others. The pleasure of recognizing a described world is no small thing."

Such a relief to finally have a diagnosis for what has ailed me for. . .my whole life, perhaps. That gnawing obsession to put into words all experience. Thank you, Dr. Doty, for recognizing what so many medical professionals could not:

I am a writer.

He's right, too: It is a blessing and a disease.

This book is part of The Art of Series, which is sponsored in part by Target, go figure. If you aren't familiar with Doty's work, he writes awesome poetry.