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Teresa's Reviews > Suppose a Sentence
Suppose a Sentence
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I love reading about this kind of stuff and I would’ve been happy to have the book continue with a new entry every single day. Of course, I didn’t always agree with Dillon’s interpretations, but even he didn’t agree with all of his interpretations. I wasn’t familiar with all of the writers and/or their works he’s chosen, but that’s more than okay.
Thanks to Tony for my awareness of this singular book and I point you to his review for a proper understanding. Instead of asking for your favorite sentences like Tony did (though that was a fun exercise), I leave you with my favorite Dillon sentences.
From the chapter “O Altitudo (Sir Thomas Browne)”:
Sentences that live on—deathless—for every sentence written is a sort of ghost—in the face of universal forgetting:
Technically what I’ve quoted above isn’t a sentence as I’ve left out what follows Dillon’s colon, a sentence of Browne’s, which also uses a colon. Dillon seems to like colons (as do I) and points out when and how they balance a sentence, though the focus of his essays isn’t necessarily on punctuation.
From the chapter “Suppose a Sentence (Gertrude Stein)”:
It is exactly what I want from a sentence, this combination of oblique self-involvement and utter commitment to the things themselves. For words are also things and things are apt to burst with force and loud report.
From the chapter “Splinters of Actuality (Elizabeth Bowen)”:
There is a difference between the writers you can read and admire all your life, and the others, the voices for whom you feel some more intimate affinity.
Thanks to Tony for my awareness of this singular book and I point you to his review for a proper understanding. Instead of asking for your favorite sentences like Tony did (though that was a fun exercise), I leave you with my favorite Dillon sentences.
From the chapter “O Altitudo (Sir Thomas Browne)”:
Sentences that live on—deathless—for every sentence written is a sort of ghost—in the face of universal forgetting:
Technically what I’ve quoted above isn’t a sentence as I’ve left out what follows Dillon’s colon, a sentence of Browne’s, which also uses a colon. Dillon seems to like colons (as do I) and points out when and how they balance a sentence, though the focus of his essays isn’t necessarily on punctuation.
From the chapter “Suppose a Sentence (Gertrude Stein)”:
It is exactly what I want from a sentence, this combination of oblique self-involvement and utter commitment to the things themselves. For words are also things and things are apt to burst with force and loud report.
From the chapter “Splinters of Actuality (Elizabeth Bowen)”:
There is a difference between the writers you can read and admire all your life, and the others, the voices for whom you feel some more intimate affinity.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
February 18, 2021
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Finished Reading
February 19, 2021
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Lesley
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Feb 19, 2021 02:38PM
I like the sound of this a lot! I love reading about this kind of stuff too. It matters, as a reader.
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You're at the top of the (short) list of people I thought would love this. I really like the sentences you culled.
Outstanding review, Teresa. I can see why you loved the book.
Very concise review, Teresa. There was no need for that reference to another review, if I had been interested, I would have found it, for sure.
Lesley wrote: "I like the sound of this a lot! I love reading about this kind of stuff too. It matters, as a reader."Hope you enjoy it if you get to it, Lesley. I already miss it.
Tony wrote: "You're at the top of the (short) list of people I thought would love this. I really like the sentences you culled."You don't know how good these sentences of yours make me feel, Tony. Thanks again.
Howard wrote: "Outstanding review, Teresa. I can see why you loved the book."Thanks, Howard. You know me well so I'm not surprised.
Théodore wrote: "Very concise review, Teresa. There was no need for that reference to another review, if I had been interested, I would have found it, for sure."I like to give credit when I think it's due. It's not the first time I've referenced someone else's review and likely won't be the last. :)
That's a good thing, Teresa . But my preferences are well defined...
That bit about sentences as ghosts had me imagining tombstones, Teresa!—slabs and slabs of well-crafted sentences stretching back into the depths of literary history! And to think I can wonder among them in daylight or in the night hours, and feel perfectly at ease no matter the stretch of time between the thought that formed those elegant slabs and the moment I'm reading them in! I have this book, by the way, the purchase inspired by the same review that inspired yours ;-) Mine has a different cover though, white with a bookmark flap. Your cover image is very thought provoking...
Fionnuala wrote: "And to think I can wonder among them in daylight or in the night hours, and feel perfectly at ease no matter the stretch of time between the thought that formed those elegant slabs and the moment I'm reading them in!"I love this sentence of yours, Fionnuala!
I'm not as much of a visual person as you are, but I too found the cover intriguing -- almost as much to contemplate in the image as with the words inside.
I've had this book on my mind. Good to read your review.
James wrote: "I've had this book on my mind. Good to read your review."You're the kind of reader it's made for, I think, so I believe you'd appreciate it.
