When you get it right …
There’s a certain feeling that I suspect is only known to writers, and maybe lyricists. It’s the sensation you get when somebody contacts you and tells you that something you wrote resonated with their own thoughts or experiences in such a way that you illuminated something for them. Maybe you made a universality out of something they’d thought was only personal to them; maybe you created a literary frame that helped them come to terms with a thought, vision or feeling; maybe you expressed an idea they’d been wrestling with. Whatever you did – you’ve reached somebody else with your words and made something concrete for them.
María Belen Kundt is an Argentinian who has just set up her own website, in Spanish, to explore the Feminine Principle. She asked if she could translate one of my essays to place on the site and I was delighted to say yes. While my Spanish is so rudimentary that I can barely ask for two coffees and an ashtray, I’ve been to look at the translation and I’m thrilled to think that people I can’t communicate with, are able to read my work thanks to the efforts of such a generous translator. Days like this make me certain that being a writer is the best life possible.
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