In Search of My Literary Companion
Other than faces and voices on Zoom, which I’m grateful for, I haven’t had many three-dimensional companions since last March. The lectures, writing workshops, and readings I’ve been able to log into over the past year have been godsends in helping me stay connected to the writing community and the world. I could never have gone to all of these events in person.
In the interest of stretching myself, I enrolled in a masterclass about literary companions. I didn’t know what a literary companion was. I have several musical companions — composers whose works I gravitate toward when I write, so why not add to my stable of inspiration and genius?
I “went” to Denmark on a Saturday afternoon to learn about literary companions from author Dorthe Nors, who takes great delight in hers — filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and Danish author Tove Ditlevsen. She even has a figurine of Bergman on her bookshelf. So, while a literary companion can hold a key place in a writing life, having a little fun with them is good.
I squirmed when Nors revealed that a literary companion is a very personal element of my writing craft. Isn’t getting my words on the page personal enough? Not quite. My literary companion, she pointed out, is a writer who addresses in my work what I can’t talk about with anyone. They are where my conscious and unconscious minds meet to “open the lid” on my material and allow me to connect it to language. I need that writer.
But it shouldn’t be anyone I know, Nors said, because I need to make my connection with the writing rather than the writer. That leaves out a couple of favorite authors I studied with in graduate school.
No matter. I’m a voracious reader and, although I want to find my literary companion, I’m not in a hurry. I haven’t set myself a deadline. I’m out to enjoy the exploration and discoveries. I know I’ll learn something about myself. I’m returning to books I have read and enjoyed and I’m taking my rereading slowly.
At the moment I’m auditioning four writers. Not in the sense of judging their suitability as my literary companions but to hear them more deeply than I have before. I’m giving them time to speak to me and I’m considering their writing in light of my own. I’m looking for the connection. I know I’ll find it.
