---

 

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “Rhetoric and the Written Word” cc&d (v267) (the January 2017 issue) You can also order this 6"x9" issue as a paperback book:

Order this writing in the book Things Found in Books the cc&d July-Dec. 2016 collection book		get the 418 page Jan.-April 2017 cc&d magazine issue collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Rhetoric and the Written Word

Sterling Jacobs

    Language... Its essence ebbs and flows. We are enraptured by its vocabulary. Its sounds and syllables trickle off the tongue into a dynamic ambiance of ecstatic wordplay, revealing the esoteric principals that are etched within our consciousness. We take dreams and extract from them a fragment of a memory that fulfills the very expression of life itself.
    Unfortunately, there is a tendency to fall too much in love with those same sounds and syllables that engulf us. So much so that it is the formation and structure that takes precedence over the idea being conveyed, while being transcribed into the written word. An analogy can be made when viewing a painting in a gallery setting. If one were to pay more attention to the surrounding frame than the crux of what is emphasized within the work itself, then one might as well display the frame without having the painting housed within it.
    In conclusion, it is not enough to incite reactions with words. One can only cry or laugh so much until one wakes up the next day wondering what it was all about. But the power of an idea and the wisdom embedded within the context of that idea can resonate beyond any emotional reaction generated forthwith. The idea itself is malleable yet durable. It is able to endure the prejudices against it that can rise over the acclamation of time. It plays no favorites. To paraphrase a quote by Lester Bangs: “An idea is honest and unmerciful.” Otherwise, it is reduced to rhetoric, propounded in speeches given by politicians, and we have heard enough of it all to want to swallow our ears. Yuck!

    *Rhetoric and the Written Word, Creations 2015, Ada Writers, 2015

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...