Friendly Writing
Jun. 26th, 2006 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
capri0mni[Cross-posted from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
quakers]
This afternoon at the library, I found Imagination and Spirit: A contemporary Quaker Reader, Edited and Introduced by J. Brent Hill. I was expecting it to be a collection of essays on contemporary theology and philosophy in the Society of Friends. Instead, it's a mix of fiction and essays (mostly fiction) by Friends who have published in the mainstream market for mainstream audiences (I'm still looking forward to reading it), with the intent of introducing modern Quakers to those who only think of us as that man with the funny hat on the oatmeal box.
The introduction is brief, broad, but clear overview of Quaker history, from the Seekers movement, which inspired George Fox, to the present day (it was published in 2002). In the introduction, J. Brent Hill addresses the changing attitudes of Quakers to the arts over the centuries, including fiction. He wrote:
And the practice of thinking about the motivations for the fictional characters I read and write has taught me to think the same about the real people I meet in life -- even as I'm arguing with them over issues of great importance to both of us, I'm reminded that this person comes to me after a life filled with struggle and triumph, and a life just as filled with the Light as my own.
Anyway, I just wanted to get those thoughts down in words, before I lost them. And I was wondering if anyone else here is active in the Arts, and how they reconcile that with the Quaker witness of simplicity and modesty.
quakers]This afternoon at the library, I found Imagination and Spirit: A contemporary Quaker Reader, Edited and Introduced by J. Brent Hill. I was expecting it to be a collection of essays on contemporary theology and philosophy in the Society of Friends. Instead, it's a mix of fiction and essays (mostly fiction) by Friends who have published in the mainstream market for mainstream audiences (I'm still looking forward to reading it), with the intent of introducing modern Quakers to those who only think of us as that man with the funny hat on the oatmeal box.
The introduction is brief, broad, but clear overview of Quaker history, from the Seekers movement, which inspired George Fox, to the present day (it was published in 2002). In the introduction, J. Brent Hill addresses the changing attitudes of Quakers to the arts over the centuries, including fiction. He wrote:
Harsh condemnation was heaped on the theater and fiction -- both were "made up." Friends felt it was insincere to express beliefs/attitudes they did not personally have..And this got me thinking. I was raised as a Friend (albeit loosely -- I never formally joined any Meeting), and I've also been drawn to storytelling and writing for as long as I can remember. For me, writing a fictional character, especially one who holds different attitudes than I do, is a supremely Friendly thing to do. The challenge, in the writing of the story, is to create likenesses of fully human, fully sympathetic people, even when I don't agree with that character's decisions or actions, and to show that humanity to the reader (or listener). In other words, I must illustrate the Inner Light that shines within all things, whether they are the "Hero" of the story, or the "Villian."
And the practice of thinking about the motivations for the fictional characters I read and write has taught me to think the same about the real people I meet in life -- even as I'm arguing with them over issues of great importance to both of us, I'm reminded that this person comes to me after a life filled with struggle and triumph, and a life just as filled with the Light as my own.
Anyway, I just wanted to get those thoughts down in words, before I lost them. And I was wondering if anyone else here is active in the Arts, and how they reconcile that with the Quaker witness of simplicity and modesty.
