Silence by John Cage is a collection of lectures and stories. Some are written in vertical columns. Some have, let’s call it interesting, spacing. And some, as Cage will tell you, have piano accompaniments, street noises, and the like. There was a lecture where he gave himself one minute to tell each story. So if the story had three lines, he had to stretch it. If a story was long, he’d have to talk fast to fit it into a minute. There’s a lecture called What Are We Doing? It’s actually three lectures sharing the same space on the page, written in vertical columns, one part in regular print, one part in bold print, and one part in italics. Mind blowing.
Even more mind blowing, thinking about what silence actually is. And does it even exist? Is sound a constant? Is it different for each individual based on surroundings, personal history, location of the individual to the sound, etc?
And mushrooms. John Cage had a thing for mushrooms.
There were short stories and anecdotes peppered throughout the book, and they were all delightful.
This is a book that any type of artist can appreciate. Also, do yourself a favor and go online and find a video of John Cage’s 4’33. Trust us.
Bowie, Ep. 9 - Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Part 1 & Why We Have Conflicting Emotions
Bowie, Ep. 8 - Diamond Dogs and 1984
Bowie, Ep. 7 - 1984 by George Orwell, Part 2 & Why Now May Not Be The Best Time To Read This Book
Bowie, Ep. 6 - 1984 by George Orwell, Part 1 & Why It's Killing Us
Bowie, Ep. 5 - The Street by Ann Petry, Part 2 & Why It's So Frustrating
Bowie, Ep. 4 - The Street by Ann Petry, Part 1 & Why We Love It
Bowie, Ep. 3 - Happy Birthday
Bowie, Ep. 2 - Black Boy by Richard Wright, Part 2
Bowie, Ep. 1 - Black Boy by Richard Wright, Part 1
Intro to 75 Reads
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Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
Great Expectations
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends