I wrote this 2 years ago
A Response to Chris Abani's Article:
Chris Abani's article consisted of many concepts I agreed with and or felt strongly about.
I loved how he not only attempted to provide us with an explanation for writing and it's purpose, he also threw in a couple quotes by other writers and included intriguing excerpts about a boy whom I wish I could have given a hug. I wondered if that boy was Abani, and I reflected on how amazing it is that it can never really be known how true a piece of writing is, if it is meant to be true, because writing gives us the freedom to twist words around and heighten or diminish details, therefore influencing how an audience may interpret it.
Yet although I spent most of my time being captivated by those pieces, I found myself coming back to this quote while reading his article:
"This is something writers and artists have always known because the truth of course is that we can never feel each others’ pain, but only approach it by relating it in degrees to our own."
I write when I'm in pain; it helps me cope, helps me understand it. Writing helps me get through any kind of pain I experience in my life. I've found that I write when I'm in love or experience emotions similar to this complex feeling, but I write most when I'm heartbroken, when I can't fathom how someone else's words or lack thereof could affect me so strongly, so substantially. Abani's quote about how we can't completely communicate to another person the degree of our pain through writing really strikes me. We could throw as much sensory detail and try our best to depict and recreate what's going on inside of us in those moments, but when it comes down to it: when you read about my pain, you'll mostly be thinking of yours.
