Charitable Writing – Chapter 1 – Entering the Study
Read the first part of this series Here
The first section of this book focuses on Humble Listening, the first of the author's three “threshold concepts” for charitable writing. In the first chapter, the authors are inviting us to follow Aquinas in purposefully following Christ in to the study, towards being His students first.
“Aquinas characterizes himself as one in need of instruction, supervision, all kinds of support. In a word, the great scholar understands himself as God's Student. The writer's labor must be, on this account, thoroughly imbued with listening.” Pg 26
Companions in the Study
“Writing is frequently understood as a task we go off and do alone. Aquinas' prayer reminds us that for Christians, however, writing need not — indeed, should not — be a solo act.” Pg 27
Throughout the Christian tradition, when we consider the Doctors of the Church, we often think of them alone in the study, seeking the solitude to do great thinky thoughts and be alone with their greatness. The authors challenge this perception with a couple case studies. St Jerome is depicted in art in his translation of the Latin Vulgate alternatively, in his study alone or, more realistically, working in a room full of the other brothers in the monastic order that he belonged to. In particular the depiction of Nicolas Frances of St Jerome, not just working in community with his contemporaries, but also with the monastic order established in his honor. Some artists depict the scholar with several “no trespassing” signs, but Frances says “You are invited in this work.”
Writing is a Social Activity
“Writing is in fact a dependent activity. Looked at in the right light, our writing reveals our embeddedness in rich webs of human relationships.” Pg 32
The authors wrap up the chapter by reinforcing that in many many different ways, writing is a social activity. At the most basic level, the ideas and phrases we draw on are the product of our immersion in the cultures we were raised in and the works we've read. The notebook or legal pad or computer we write on was created by someone else (likely several someones!). We can attempt to separate ourselves from everyone else and create “sui generis”, springing fully formed from the mind, but such an ideal is not actually possible. For the Christian, this is good news, it means that we can lean in to the social-communal nature that the rest of the faith takes on with our writing.
My Conclusions
- This reinforces the need and the desirability of communal essay writing to me. Something like an essays seminar where peers will pass papers back and forth. I'm working on a proposal for this semester for my program.
- The incorporation of other communal spiritual disciplines with the writing is also interesting to me. I've often seen journaling incorporated with prayer or contemplation, as a reflective exercise, but I've never heard of a writing group beginning with a call to prayer, or a writing seminar fasting together over a week to try and get a new perspective on a draft. Interesting possibilities.