opening remarks

Until now my blogging has consisted of tag lines for my emails and a collection of quotes on post-it notes on my desk (I call it my dlog). Just like with a diary, I knew I would start a blog and never post, or post only self-involved whinings and sex chronicles. Which still may happen. But my main reason for starting is to have a place to put the pithy quotes I am always coming across.

aph-o-rism noun
1 : a concise statement of a principle
2 : a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment : ADAGE, SAYING

My fascination with aphorisms began while working on a trilogy of deconstructed musical versions of three Nathaniel Hawthorne novels. Several writers were involved in these projects; my task was to distill the novel text into a usable format. I began by pulling out all the pronouncements, or aphorisms, that Mr. Hawthorne likes to include. Taken together, the aphorisms act as a distillation of the stories, even though they're often completely contradictory.

Since then, I notice them in almost everything I read, and I am driven to collect them, though I have no idea what I'll eventually do with them. I'll soon post the Hawthorne collection here, then follow with a few more I have lying around. Then we'll just see what happens!