I only post something here when i feel i have something important to say. But sometimes, before i post it, i notice that i’ve said it before. Or somebody else has, long ago. Why say it again?
If only I could say it as if it had never been said before! Or in a way that would make it feel new!
Had l unknown phrases
Sayings that are strange
Novel, untried words
Free of repetition
Not transmitted sayings
Spoken by the ancestorsI wring out my body for what it holds,
Sifting through all my words;
For what has been said is just repetition,
What has been said has been said …— translated from the hieroglyphics of Khakheperre-seneb (Egyptian Middle Kingdom, 19th century BC), as quoted by Guy Deutscher (The Unfolding Of Language, p. 96).
Writers have been wringing like this for 4000 years. This is nothingnew.
There is nothing new under the sun, but on our best days that old world looks fresh under the bright sun. It’s the same for artists of all stripes. How to paint a landscape that can surprize and thrill the viewer? How to write a fresh pop song? Yet, it happens often enough. I recently tead Spider Robinson’s story ‘Melancholy Elephants’ which discusses this. I also read a critic who sais Marc Bolan’s pop genius was to altogether ignore The Beatles and jump right back to Chuck Berry, which is basically what Punk also did, just a few years later. But here I am, always awaiting a new Punk, a new Van Gogh, a new Jesus. We’re all in the same boat, but now I have that great quote you quoted. Thanks for it.