On Feb 7, 2005, at 1:32 PM, John Baker wrote:
> By this argument, you would recommend writers to
> practice typing other people's writing in order to
> develop their own style. My point is that human
> ingenuity is the source of inovation, and imitation is
> the source of copies.
Rather, by Brian's argument, I would recommend that aspiring writers
read other writers, and have some experience writing in traditional
forms. No decent American or English poet has not written a sonnet.
It's not quite correct that the source of innovation is human
ingenuity. Of course, there is no innovation without ingenuity. But
it is also true that there is no innovation without a tradition and
knowledge of that tradition. Imitation is the source of innovation.
No poet can express anything without a language he shares with his
readers. That language is necessary a network of conventions, and
consequently is fundamentally not innovative. In order to communicate,
we must have some at least loose agreement on what words mean, and how
a sentence is grammatically constructed. The word "innovation" refers
to something "new", and nothing can be said to be "new" except in
distinction from what is "old". If you don't know the old, then you
can't make something new.
There are standards of innovation. We say that someone is a good
innovator, or lousy at it. Innovation is not freedom from musical
tradition, context, history, judgement, aesthetics.
Brian has made a valid, purely practical point, as well. I know
someone who doesn't want to learn shakuhachi music, but likes simply to
"innovate" on his flute. He doesn't want to learn meri notes, he
doesn't want to learn the second octave. After listening to him for 5
minutes you hear that he's stuck in a rut, repeating the same sequences
again and again. He has done nothing to enlarge his ability, which
would allow him to stretch his imagination.
Tim Larkin
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