The Merry Heart - Reflections On Reading, Writing, And The World Of Books
2 journalers for this copy...
Whenever I think of great Canadian writers Robertson Davies is close to the top of the list. I still haven't read everything he wrote but I was pretty sure I knew most of his books. So it was a great surprise to see this book on the Friends of the Library cart in the Millennium Library and realize it was a new one to me. Davies died in 1995 but his wife, daughter and editor, Douglas Gibson, pulled together this collection and published it posthumously. I'll be looking forward to getting into it.
The title comes from Proverbs 17:22:
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Robertson Davies had a merry heart and I'm sure meeting and listening to him was like a tonic. I never had that pleasure but I have certainly enjoyed reading his novels, his short stories and now this selection of speeches and essays he created from 1980 to 1995. His death on December 2, 1995 cut off any more creations but his wife, daughter and publisher pulled these together to give us one more book from beyond the grave.
It seems that Davies was frequently asked to give speeches and addresses and reviews. Evidence from his diaries shows that he prepared carefully for these occasions and that he was far from confident about his delivery. This is not a man who took honours as his due; he believed in giving good value for the honorarium or degree or whatever was the quid pro quo.
There is some repetition in the selections but I did not find that bothersome. In fact, it emphasized for me the beliefs that Davies held dear. He reiterated several times an opinion that he attributed to a critic named John Middleton Murray:
a truly great novel is a tale to the simple, a parable to the wise, and a direct revelation of reality to a man who has made it part of his being. In his essay called "Reading" which was given at Yale University in February 1990, Davies expanded on this notion. Telling a good tale is not simple work even if it is the simplest function of a novel; Davies contrasts the Sherlock Holmes stories with Virginia Woolf's books to illustrate this. Davies gave as an example of a book that was a parable the recently published book by Tom Wolfe: Bonfire of the Vanities. As to books that are a direct revelation of reality, Davies says that they will be different for different people. "One must find one's own great novels, which seem to illuminate and explain portions of one's own experience..."
Davies also reiterates the importance of reading poetry several times in his addresses. In fact he spent the whole 10 minutes he was allotted in giving a convocation address to students graduating from Dowling College in recommending that they read some poetry every day to nourish their "Innermost Self". And he wants them to reread the same poems "until you find that you are reading the poem without actually looking at the words. Hear every word in your head. Do not skim; do not read quickly, any more than you would play a piece of music absurdly fast on your hi-fi, simply to get it over with. Read, listen to, and savour the words, and the sense."
Davies could be humourous as well as profound. There is a short piece about a fragment of a diary supposedly written by Stephen Leacock that shows the genesis for Leacock's story "Hoodoo McFiggin's Christmas". It skewers the literary intelligentsia perfectly.
There is so much I could expound upon but really I recommend reading the book. Davies own words are much wiser than mine.
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Robertson Davies had a merry heart and I'm sure meeting and listening to him was like a tonic. I never had that pleasure but I have certainly enjoyed reading his novels, his short stories and now this selection of speeches and essays he created from 1980 to 1995. His death on December 2, 1995 cut off any more creations but his wife, daughter and publisher pulled these together to give us one more book from beyond the grave.
It seems that Davies was frequently asked to give speeches and addresses and reviews. Evidence from his diaries shows that he prepared carefully for these occasions and that he was far from confident about his delivery. This is not a man who took honours as his due; he believed in giving good value for the honorarium or degree or whatever was the quid pro quo.
There is some repetition in the selections but I did not find that bothersome. In fact, it emphasized for me the beliefs that Davies held dear. He reiterated several times an opinion that he attributed to a critic named John Middleton Murray:
a truly great novel is a tale to the simple, a parable to the wise, and a direct revelation of reality to a man who has made it part of his being. In his essay called "Reading" which was given at Yale University in February 1990, Davies expanded on this notion. Telling a good tale is not simple work even if it is the simplest function of a novel; Davies contrasts the Sherlock Holmes stories with Virginia Woolf's books to illustrate this. Davies gave as an example of a book that was a parable the recently published book by Tom Wolfe: Bonfire of the Vanities. As to books that are a direct revelation of reality, Davies says that they will be different for different people. "One must find one's own great novels, which seem to illuminate and explain portions of one's own experience..."
Davies also reiterates the importance of reading poetry several times in his addresses. In fact he spent the whole 10 minutes he was allotted in giving a convocation address to students graduating from Dowling College in recommending that they read some poetry every day to nourish their "Innermost Self". And he wants them to reread the same poems "until you find that you are reading the poem without actually looking at the words. Hear every word in your head. Do not skim; do not read quickly, any more than you would play a piece of music absurdly fast on your hi-fi, simply to get it over with. Read, listen to, and savour the words, and the sense."
Davies could be humourous as well as profound. There is a short piece about a fragment of a diary supposedly written by Stephen Leacock that shows the genesis for Leacock's story "Hoodoo McFiggin's Christmas". It skewers the literary intelligentsia perfectly.
There is so much I could expound upon but really I recommend reading the book. Davies own words are much wiser than mine.
I plan to hand this book to Pooker3 at tonight's Winnipeg BookCrossing meeting as part of her prize for releasing the most books for the 2018 Canada Days release challenge. Hope you enjoy reading more of the thoughts of this year's special theme Robertson Davies.
When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.
When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.
A prize from gypsysmom for the 2018 Canada Day Release Challenge! Very fitting of the theme this year. I'm looking forward to reading this and having one last Robertson Davies book on my reading pile. At least for a little while. I think I've released all the the other RD books I've ever owned. An added personal if a bit irrelevant pleasure I just noticed is that this book was 1st sold by Eaton's. I worked in Eaton's book department as a teenager. One of the best first jobs ever I think. Thanks gypsysmom !
