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cradle of the eternally forlorn

@litafficionado / litafficionado.tumblr.com

No one sings as purely as those who inhabit the deepest hell—what we take to be the song of angels is their song. - Franz Kafka
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Interviewer: What most troubles you about the Internet?

William T. Vollmann: Well, first of all, I think the notion that there are virtual communities of interest is a fruitful one in some ways, but it’s also very dangerous, because it means that you are even more removed from your immediate surroundings; your physical center becomes less important, you have less invested in it, and—it’s like your mobile phone—you’re less likely to become friends with your neighbors, and I think that is contributing to the decay and loneliness of American society. The second thing that I hate about the Internet and mobile phones as well—and one of the reasons that the paths to individuality we potentially have are being abused—is that suddenly everyone becomes infinitely interruptible. And I think that you can’t, really, get anywhere: you can’t think about who you are, and what you’re doing and where you should be going, if you can be interrupted every second. That’s why I don’t have email, I don’t have a mobile phone, I don’t have a fax; I don’t watch television for the same reason: I hate the interruptions, the commercials. On the Internet you get exposed to all kinds of ads and, in the meantime, people who mean you no good are tracking your movements, your buying patterns, your interests, and making it all the more likely that the interruptions in your life will be more and more seductive, therefore more and more effective, and keep you from being yourself. 

[.... ] And of course we always do have a choice. We have the choice to say no, we don’t have the choice to say yes, sometimes. If you’re in a relationship with another person, let’s say, (and) both of you are decent people, if one says “no,” let’s say to having sex, or one says “no” to continuing the relationship, that’s it. No is stronger than yes. It takes two to say yes, but only one to say no. And I think that’s true really of any social contract: when you get to the point where you want to say no to the Internet and you’re not allowed to say no to it, that’s going to be really, really sinister and horrible, but fortunately we’re not quite there yet. My publishers are always saying, “What do you mean you don’t have email?” And they get upset, but what can they do?

#William T. Vollmann#Conversations with William T. Vollmann#lit
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“The kind of reading and writing that I value is a dying art. While it lasts and while I last, I intend to write sentences that are beautiful in their own right, to write paragraphs that respect those sentences while conveying thought: and to arrange those paragraphs in works that promote love and understanding for people whom others with my background may despise or fail to know. I enjoy reading books that have beautiful sentences, and it makes me feel real good if I can try to create something that’s beautiful, even if it’s sad or on an ugly subject. If the thing is well put together, it makes me feel good."

-William T. Vollmann, quoted in Conversations with William T. Vollmann ed. Daniel Lukes

#William T. Vollmann#Conversations with William T. Vollmann#Daniel Lukes#lit#writing#reading
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Responses to "Is there hope?" (via @Samantharhill--and the ensuing thread--on X):

Franz Kafka: Yes, but not for us.

Hannah Arendt: Dreams never do come true.

Walter Benjamin: It's only for those without hope that hope is given.

Max Horkheimer: I do not believe that things will turn out well, but the idea that they might is of decisive importance.

Theodor Adorno: No.

Slavoj Žižek: to those who say “there is light at the end of the tunnel”, I say “yes, and that is probably a train coming in the opposite direction”.

Elie Wiesel: I invent it.

#Franz Kafka#Hannah Arendt#Walter Benjamin#Max Horkheimer#Theodor Adorno#Slavoj Žižek#Elie Wiesel#hope#lit
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