DREAMS
IN A
BACKWATER
A Personal Journal of Poetry and Prose
Note:
Dreams In A Backwater represents one man's attempt to
create a work of literature out of the raw materials of his own life.
That is to say, it was a work written more or less as it was being
lived, the guiding principle having been that the examination of one's
life is the most important task any individual can
undertake. It is hoped that this belief will not be interpreted
as one of unadulterated egotism; life, after all, consists not only of
one's private concerns, but of how those concerns are shaped both by
the relationships one has with others and by the wider social context
within which those relationships exist. It has been
my contention that self-scrutiny is the most accurate, as well
as being the most ethical, procedure any of us has available for delving
into this broader range of materials. The self-understanding
which results from such scrutiny might fairly be called the
foundation upon which the edifice one constructs out of life either
stands or falls, for without self-understanding, one's placement within
society, within the context of interpersonal relationships, and
within the larger context of the natural world, will necessarily bear
the marks of a profound misapprehension. Of course, since self-understanding
is a constantly evolving feature of the internal landscape, it
cannot ever be said to be complete; it has been my hope,
nevertheless, that by keeping my eyes, and my mind, open during the
course of my passage though life, I would be able to create an
edifice of words which bore an honest (if not always flattering)
likeness to the one who made it.
Part One:
Introduction |
Part Two:
My Name Is Simon |
Part Three:
In The World, Not Of It |
Part Four:
The Animals Aren't Animals Anymore |
Part Five:
The Monkey Is Me |
|
Part Six:
The Dreamer |
|
