A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley The Farrier
Sep 7, 2023
The podcast explores the use of visual references in writing, with a focus on a painting of a farrier. The speaker reflects on the role of writers as ghostly observers and the importance of silence in a noisy world.
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Painting Inspires Character Connection
- Sally Bayley reflected on a painting her student brought showing a farrier shoeing a horse, focusing on its emotional depth.
- She described how the farrier's body merges with the horse's, illustrating intense concentration and physical connection.
Embodied Writing as Sacrament
- Writing demands merging with characters or objects like the farrier with the horse's foot.
- Embodying characters involves a sacramental act of giving yourself over to the sensory experience.
Writers as Ghostly Presences
- Writers are ghost-like observers, present and absent simultaneously in their narratives.
- This spectral presence helps manage third-person narration as if experiencing the scene firsthand.