Oct 16, 2023·edited Oct 16, 2023Liked by Jillian Hess
That opening is the best quote! As clean as a bone. I love that.
Also, I am *fully* behind this writing schedule: "...I hopefully took notebook and fountain pen off to the upstairs room of the [Café de] Flore, where I consumed rather a lot of coffee and, as evening approached, rather a lot of alcohol."
Thanks once again for shining a light on not only aspects of note-taking and notes, but also the person behind them. I leave educated as always, Jillian.
Right?! It's such a romantic writing schedule. Although, I imagine the reality of it was less so. I read an article explaining that the reason people in Europe in the post-war years went to cafes is because they didn't have heat in their apartments. So they needed a warm place to work.
And thanks for your kind words about my sketch. I'm still kind of embarrassed!
An absolute genius. I saw the documentary in the theatre and it was superb. I’ve been wanting to go to the African American History museum in DC to see his exhibit. There is a lot of his work and pieces from his life in it. I think you’d enjoy it!
It's funny you mention the African American History Museum-- I've been wanting to visit since it opened. And, at the moment, I'm actually planning a trip to DC to do research at the Library of Congress, so I'm going to also reserve a day for the museum. I'm very excited to finally visit!
Jillian -- when you do a Re-Noted I NEVER FEEL CHEATED. It is a tribute to the obvious effort you put into each and every one of these essays. Through the magic of Google I went back and looked at our dialog in the comments on the original. I may just go back and listen to William F Buckley drone on again in the debate you referenced. Bravo.
Thank you for saying that, Mark! With my teaching schedule, having one week a month "off" where I don't create entirely new content has been such a help. You are one of the relatively few readers who subscribed to Noted a year ago. I was so grateful for your support then, and I remain very grateful for your support now! 💛
What a nice sentiment. Thank you Jillian. It is funny to me what I read and do not for the long term. In Anne K's recent post I shared with her that I still am pretty doctrinaire about reading a limited number of Substacks. I probably read about 15 that post REGULARLY and some others that are hit and miss. I think I shared with her that a Substack has to be (1) Fun and authentic (2) There has to be a limited amount of self-promotion or it wears me out (3) It needs to have a theme but be BROADLY topical. Yours is another fine example of a Substack that is consistently worthwhile for ALL of those reasons. I have found, most disturbingly that sometimes when I stop reading a Substack, I think mostly about their associated content that comes along for the ride. I believe I get to enjoy the content I love MORE by sometimes muting the serial self-promoters. In the end, for me, I try to commit a certain amount of time to Substack and WANT to enjoy it. Yours is genuinely enjoyable.
Thanks for this. Baldwin is one of my favorite writers and my favorite work of his is "The Fire Next Time."
Almost all of that book consists of his long essay in The New Yorker called "A Letter From the Region of My Mind.
If you google it, you can get the essay for free, provided you either are a subscriber or are entitled to a few free articles before the paywall comes down.
Baldwin was a genius - his words are so precise. I have a book of his essays and what I find is that as you read them you actually hear him speaking the words. It's uncanny. Such a shame you couldn't photographs the notes and doodles but at least you got to see the great man's original notes.
Interesting point about doodles. As I'm coming to the end of my rather intensive PhD writing, I'm going to get myself into a new routine in the new year and I decided to increase my efforts in sketching and doodling. Hoping it will be a diversion and use another part of my brain, but if it helps my creative writing then all the better!!
What a moving speech highlighted in that debate video! If I’m honest, I know little about Baldwin and his work, but after this piece of yours I definitely need to learn more about his life. This was an excellent post and I appreciate the information :)
I love James Baldwin--and that quote describes his writing so well--I'm always struck at the clarity and strong beauty in his writing. Such a lighthouse. And that speech....just damn. The past is never the past is it.
Revising until there is nothing more you can do, even if it isn’t what you want, or, really, what you thought you were doing in the first place...that is the heart of writing. Drafting is painful. Revision is hard--especially hard to know where to stop. That part of the post really sticks with me.
And now as I turn to revising the book that I have been working on for 6.5 years, I am experiencing both the pain and pleasure of revision—the hard work and the compelling desire to keep tweaking, to make it just that little bit better.
Thanks for sharing! Never knew a lot about James Baldwin , but you have sparked an interest to dig into the archives. Always enjoy your posts, so informative.
Thanks for letting me know, Kristina. They must have taken the video down, which is so unfortunate. The documentary's definitely worth the $3 it costs to rent it. You can also find lots of clips from the movie along with many of his speeches online.
That opening is the best quote! As clean as a bone. I love that.
Also, I am *fully* behind this writing schedule: "...I hopefully took notebook and fountain pen off to the upstairs room of the [Café de] Flore, where I consumed rather a lot of coffee and, as evening approached, rather a lot of alcohol."
Thanks once again for shining a light on not only aspects of note-taking and notes, but also the person behind them. I leave educated as always, Jillian.
PS your sketch is great!
Right?! It's such a romantic writing schedule. Although, I imagine the reality of it was less so. I read an article explaining that the reason people in Europe in the post-war years went to cafes is because they didn't have heat in their apartments. So they needed a warm place to work.
And thanks for your kind words about my sketch. I'm still kind of embarrassed!
Wow, that's pretty crazy (he says, having just woken up and turned on the heater!)
You shouldn't be embarassed at all 😊
I love his doodles.
An absolute genius. I saw the documentary in the theatre and it was superb. I’ve been wanting to go to the African American History museum in DC to see his exhibit. There is a lot of his work and pieces from his life in it. I think you’d enjoy it!
It's funny you mention the African American History Museum-- I've been wanting to visit since it opened. And, at the moment, I'm actually planning a trip to DC to do research at the Library of Congress, so I'm going to also reserve a day for the museum. I'm very excited to finally visit!
A nudge from the Universe ✨😍 I’m so excited for your trip! I hope you share your visit with us!!! 💕
Yes! I'm excited to see what I find.
Jillian -- when you do a Re-Noted I NEVER FEEL CHEATED. It is a tribute to the obvious effort you put into each and every one of these essays. Through the magic of Google I went back and looked at our dialog in the comments on the original. I may just go back and listen to William F Buckley drone on again in the debate you referenced. Bravo.
Thank you for saying that, Mark! With my teaching schedule, having one week a month "off" where I don't create entirely new content has been such a help. You are one of the relatively few readers who subscribed to Noted a year ago. I was so grateful for your support then, and I remain very grateful for your support now! 💛
What a nice sentiment. Thank you Jillian. It is funny to me what I read and do not for the long term. In Anne K's recent post I shared with her that I still am pretty doctrinaire about reading a limited number of Substacks. I probably read about 15 that post REGULARLY and some others that are hit and miss. I think I shared with her that a Substack has to be (1) Fun and authentic (2) There has to be a limited amount of self-promotion or it wears me out (3) It needs to have a theme but be BROADLY topical. Yours is another fine example of a Substack that is consistently worthwhile for ALL of those reasons. I have found, most disturbingly that sometimes when I stop reading a Substack, I think mostly about their associated content that comes along for the ride. I believe I get to enjoy the content I love MORE by sometimes muting the serial self-promoters. In the end, for me, I try to commit a certain amount of time to Substack and WANT to enjoy it. Yours is genuinely enjoyable.
Couldn’t agree more, Mark
I will take a look at your Substack as I enjoy travel & food
Thanks for this. Baldwin is one of my favorite writers and my favorite work of his is "The Fire Next Time."
Almost all of that book consists of his long essay in The New Yorker called "A Letter From the Region of My Mind.
If you google it, you can get the essay for free, provided you either are a subscriber or are entitled to a few free articles before the paywall comes down.
Oh, that's a great tip! I love how many great works are available for free online!
Baldwin’s fiction helped me begin to see. Genius, he was. Great essay--
Yes! I feel I can see the world more clearly after reading Baldwin.
Baldwin was a genius - his words are so precise. I have a book of his essays and what I find is that as you read them you actually hear him speaking the words. It's uncanny. Such a shame you couldn't photographs the notes and doodles but at least you got to see the great man's original notes.
Interesting point about doodles. As I'm coming to the end of my rather intensive PhD writing, I'm going to get myself into a new routine in the new year and I decided to increase my efforts in sketching and doodling. Hoping it will be a diversion and use another part of my brain, but if it helps my creative writing then all the better!!
I think one of the signs of a brilliant writer is that you can hear them --their voice is just so distinct!
I hope you spend more time doodling. It's really an under-utilized resource, I think.
What a moving speech highlighted in that debate video! If I’m honest, I know little about Baldwin and his work, but after this piece of yours I definitely need to learn more about his life. This was an excellent post and I appreciate the information :)
That makes me so happy to hear! Baldwin was an absolute genius. I hope you enjoy reading his work as much as I have!
Your sketch! Great post, Jillian. Baldwin and Buckley -- watching for about the umpteenth time. Thanks for this.
It’s just so brilliant!
I love James Baldwin--and that quote describes his writing so well--I'm always struck at the clarity and strong beauty in his writing. Such a lighthouse. And that speech....just damn. The past is never the past is it.
Yes--it's amazing (and depressing) that his words still resonate so meaningfully today!
If you have time to watch the entire Cambridge debate, it's breathtaking
It really is! Just masterful.
Revising until there is nothing more you can do, even if it isn’t what you want, or, really, what you thought you were doing in the first place...that is the heart of writing. Drafting is painful. Revision is hard--especially hard to know where to stop. That part of the post really sticks with me.
And now as I turn to revising the book that I have been working on for 6.5 years, I am experiencing both the pain and pleasure of revision—the hard work and the compelling desire to keep tweaking, to make it just that little bit better.
I know the feeling well! Wishing you a bit more pleasure than pain in the process!
Thank you! So far, so good!
Thanks so much for the second nudge in two years, to read Giovanni’s Room again after 40 years. I’m going to enjoy it at a much deeper level.
That makes me so happy to hear!
Thanks for sharing! Never knew a lot about James Baldwin , but you have sparked an interest to dig into the archives. Always enjoy your posts, so informative.
Thanks! I'm so happy you'll spend more time with Baldwin!
This is so so great! Also, great sketch 😎
Haha! Thanks. I still cringe when I see it, because I know how good his sketch was. Still, I'm glad you appreciate the effort 🙂
Thank you for this. I didn't know much about the man behind the words. Fascinating.
Side note, I'd like to see the documentary you linked, but it says it is private.
Thanks for letting me know, Kristina. They must have taken the video down, which is so unfortunate. The documentary's definitely worth the $3 it costs to rent it. You can also find lots of clips from the movie along with many of his speeches online.
I am delighted that I got to be the hundredth heart on a post about James Baldwin. Thanks for this!
Lucky 100!