A book as dogma

[Leanne]

I was wondering about the hundreds of things that I've already written, many I haven't shown to anyone. Whether I should just let them sit in my trunk of papers or scatter them around while I'm trying to finish these books that are currently more important to me. And I was bringing up, in general, the idea of and discussion on these writers who work an aesthetic out of their limitations and botched attempts. Sometimes it's not them as much as later critics who add levels of understanding, and appreciation, that the writers never considered themselves.

Are they more or less valuable to you if shown to other people? If neither, then no harm is done by showing them. And you are quite correct: you don't know what you've written until someone else reads it and explains it to you. Art is dialogue. Argument. Pissing into the wind and convincing others it's lemonade.