Once More to the Blog

E.B. White’s essay “Once More to the Lake” (mentioned by Lesley Rex), was an assigned reading in high school. For reasons unbeknownst to me at the time, the piece resonated with something inside me. I read the essay multiple times in a row, which was unusual for me at the time. I remember that when we discussed it in class, we were looking for the specific literary devices White used to vividly convey to the reader his feeling that he and his son were somehow one person and that time is cyclical. For some reason, I even remember that we discussed at length White’s reference to “the mosquito” as if it were the same mosquito that he had encountered as a boy. The essay made such an impression on me that I shared it with an adult friend of mine who is an English teacher. She was not previously familiar with the essay, but now uses it regularly in her classes.
I find it odd that I remember these minutias and realize now that I didn’t realize at the time why this simple essay had such an impact on me. “Once More to the Lake” was the first piece of non-fiction I read that expressed something deeper than reality, that tried to make sense of the world, that conveyed a writers convictions, but didn’t preach, or become melodramatic or self-important. It was also the first time I encountered non-fiction work that wasn’t a research paper, that wasn’t dry, or dull, or boring, but was still respected by the academic community. I feel as if “Once More to the Lake” led me to my first experience of that transcendence that Suhor writes about. While I didn’t cognitively realize all of this at the time, the lessons did sink in and when I listen to them my writing (and perceiving) is better and more insightful.
That being said, I agree with Rex that most students will not automatically appreciate the quality or intricacy of a well-written essay upon first read (I remember reading Orwell’s “Shooting An Elephant” and thinking it the worst writing I’d ever read), but composing a similar piece will probably open their minds and eyes to the difficulty of writing such a piece, and the skill with which the aforementioned writer’s have executed the writing.
Murray talks about the ease of writing in his essay. I agree with his observation that writing does not have to be difficult, but this seems to be the opposite sentiment of this quote I came across by 18th century author Samuel Johnson: “What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” (Unless of course Johnson is referring to emotional effort and not to the physical act of composition.) I know that my better writings have been the ones that flowed easily from the mind to the page, but as Murray mentioned is often the case, I too feel guilty that writing comes easily at times. This is one area where I see the need for a major shift in writing classrooms. I really believe that those students who find composition easy should not be made to refine and belabor composition, but should be encouraged and stretched in other areas. Let well enough alone.
Now, one word about Richard Graves’ essay. When you are the editor of the text, you can include whatever you wish in the volume. (Not that it wasn’t good or insightful, I just could have done without it.)