Je cite beaucoup, ces temps-ci. Manière de partager quelques éblouissements esthétiques, ou plus simplement des plaisirs de lecture… Le weblog de Jonathan Carroll est à l’image de cet auteur: à la fois étrange & amusant. Carroll y prend note de bouts de phrases étonnantes, le genre de formules qui provoquent des petits chocs dans ses fictions… Plus rarement, une réflexion complète, telle celle-ci, d’une grande beauté…
« Years ago I watched a documentary on tv about a couple who were game wardens in Africa. They lived in a big airy house in the middle of a wildlife preserve. Besides being surrounded by the kind of wild animals most of us will only ever see in zoos, these people had « pets. » A baby rhinoceros that had been orphaned, an ostrich that was the rhino’s best friend, a four year old female lion the couple had raised and then re-released back into the wild. The lion frequently returned to visit. Its favorite thing was to nap on the porch at the woman’s feet while she read.
All of the doors and windows of their house were always left open. If someone closed something, they were strongly reprimanded. Explaining why, the man said that by leaving everything open, the animals always felt like they could come and go as they pleased and never felt trapped. Close the doors and you have a wild animal in your living room. Leave the door open and you have an exotic visitor who is happy to see you, but *always* on its terms.
Later I realized it is the same with writing, inspiration, where do I get my ideas… all of that. I love to write because in the best ways, the process is like living in that house in the African wilderness. If I leave all of the doors and windows of my imagination open, great wild beasts frequently come to visit. When they do, I never ever try to close them in with my own rules and regulations. If they want to sleep on the porch or pee on the couch, wonderful. No matter what, I am always thrilled to see them and they know that. When they feel it is time to leave, they do. If I don’t feel like writing today or for a few days, I don’t. And I don’t think about it. It is not an obligation– it is the greatest privilege. These animals, these ideas and characters and stories, are my friends. When they are in the mood or the neighborhood, they will return. »