On anonymity

I don't exactly know why, but for the writer of an anonymous weblog I seem to be rather inclined to introducing myself and letting you get to know me.

Maybe its because I aspire to an intimacy with the world; maybe because I'm really using this space as a place I can construct an identity and get to know myself, at the very same time as starting to see this identity as inherently empty of any real existence. All done safely behind a tenous veil of anonymity.

Or most likely, I'm imagining that no-one but the handful of intimates I've told about this page can find, or have any interest in it. Either way, I rather like the opportunity, so thanks for bearing with me..

The whole question of why I write like this inevitably points me to a deeper question, why write at all? And this question I've never come to answer satisfactorily, other than to respod, I can't seem to help it.

Singing, playing, writing, friendship, most things we do, beyond what we must to ensure physical survival, cannot be explained by mere utility. I suppose I have come to the conclusion that creativity is an inseparable part of our being, with no explicit purpose.

At best though, I sense that good writers, players, singers and friends glimpse, in their own life, the merest shadow of a pattern, suggesting a tapestry much larger. Sometimes the events of our lives might have a deeper resonance, with people in general, and by writing (or otherwise expressing) these threads, maybe the patterns might become clearer to others. Sadly, there is no guaranteeing that will happen; but hey, if some little piece of prose does one day transcend its personal origins and become meaningful to others, I think it would justify almost any amount of vague, incoherent, anonymous, public speculation.

We live in hope.