#betwixt and between

[hornyforpoetry]

The Five Stages of Reading Albert Camus

 1. The Discovery – ”The Stranger” (1942)

 „The Stranger” is unquestionably the best choice for anyone who wants to get to know Albert Camus. It's so simple that it fools you at first. You think it's going to be an easy read, but when you finish the book and put it down, you don't even know your name or if it even matters to have a name. It will probably keep your mind busy for months and make you think about the true meaning of life. You will most likely never be the same person again.

 2. Falling in Love – ”Betwixt and Between” (1937) // ”The Fall” (1956) // ”Exile and the Kingdom” (1957)

After "The Stranger" has had time to settle and stick in your mind (a process that takes about six months to a year), it's time to explore other writing. Camus doesn't use the same language in every book, so it's important to be careful what you choose to read after. The best options to fall irrevocably in love with this French philosopher are ”Betwixt and Between”, which is his very first published book, ”The Fall”, which offers a very interesting narrative perspective, or ”Exile and the Kingdom”, his only collection of short stories. After going through these, your heart will be caught in the nets of love for Camus.

 3. The Surprise – ”The Plague” (1947) // ”A Happy Death” (written 1936–38, published 1971) // ”Summer” (1954) // ”Nuptials” (1938)

After the reader has gone through the above books, he will have the impression that he knows Camus. Now is the time for him to have the surprise of his life. Camus managed the feat of not giving the audience the same thing twice. That is why each of his writings is unique. Some are easier to read and digest, some are not. At this stage, it is time to get acquainted with its more difficult side. "The Plague" is a story that shakes you to the core and is difficult for even the best readers to get through. ”The Happy Death” should never have seen the light of day, being the first version of what we now know as The Stranger. "Summer" and "Nuptials" are dubbed essays and are similar in format to ”Betwixt and Between”, but here Camus approaches a completely new language, so poetic and refined that it instantly wins you over. Only after the reader goes through these books can he say that he understands a part of Camus.

 4. Not just a writer – ”The Myth of Sisyphus” (1942) // „The Rebel” (1951) // Theatre Plays // Journalism Articles

 Camus was not only a great French writer. He was also a philosopher (though he never called himself that), a journalist and a playwright. If you are interested in fully understanding Camus, you must also understand his writings in other fields. "The Myth of Sisyphus" is the essay that formed the basis of the formation of a new philosophical current called absurdism. "The Rebel" continues the work started by "The Myth of Sisyphus", going much deeper into the issues related to the meaning of life, art, war, etc. Plays like "Caligula" (1938) or "The Misunderstanding" (1944) are wonderful pieces of art in the history of the theater, while summing up the entire philosophy of Camus. His journalistic articles reveal a Camus involved in society, trying to change something in one way or another through writing. "Reflections on the Guillotine" (1957) for example was an important work that contributed to the abolition of the death penalty in France. Camus never confined his writing to a single specialization, and this can be seen in the skill with which he explored the power of the word in its various forms.

5. Camus the Human – ”The First Man” (incomplete, published 1994) // ”American Journals” (1978) // ”Correspondence (1944–1959)” // ”Notebooks”

At this point, after going through all these readings, we also want to find out who was the man behind the word. Camus put many things from his personal life into writing, but in this selection we have the most personal point of view. ”The First Man” was supposed to be an autobiographical novel, but Camus died before he could finish it. The remaining manuscript was revised and published years after the author's death. "American Journals" captures a highly sensitive moment in his life, an existential crisis in Camus's life. ”Correspondence” is an exchange of letters between Camus and the woman with probably the greatest influence in his life, Maria Casares. Finally, the "Notebooks" are a collection made from the notes that Camus wrote over the years in his countless notebooks. Every intimate thought, beginning of a novel, reflection, trace of feeling, all these complete the image of Camus as a man.

Congratulations! If you have reached this point, you have managed to go through all the stages of knowledge and you can call yourself a true fan of Albert Camus. Now go and spread his teachings to other little outstiders. And don't forget, the only purpose of life is to be happy (reading Camus together).

#albert camus #camus #camus quotes #classic literature #literature #french literature #albert #the stranger #the plague #the fall #exile and the kingdom #20th century #20th century literature #classic authors #a happy death #the first man #betwixt and between #nuptials #summer #the myth of sisyphus #the rebel #philosophy #philosopher #20th century philosophy #absurdism #absurd #existentialism #the theory of the absurd #notebooks #american journals

[rustbeltjessie]

There are verb tenses in writing that are not taught in schools. These are tenses that one learns instead when one grows older and knows that things will either be or not be, when one finds out that one might have been or might not have been something or other. I will refer to these tenses as the future imagined and the past imagined.

The future imagined is contingent upon daydreaming, that is, the type of daydreaming that can foretell the future. If I write in the future imagined, you may not know it. Whenever I write my daydreams, I am writing in the future imagined. In this type of daydreaming, the boundary between reality and the imaginary is blurred, and because this type of daydreaming brings the same daydream over and over again, we live out the same moment an endless amount of times, until that moment takes on the same qualities as our memories. Who is to say that what occurs in my dreams or my daydreams did not really happen to me? If I live them and experience them with the same intensity that I experience events in real life, then who is to say that these dreams or these daydreams are not real? If you follow me into my dreams, then__________.

When we write about dreams, we write them in the past imagined. So too do we write in the past imagined when we write about old love affairs, because nothing is as unreal, as dreamy as love. And nothing is as confusing, as cryptic, as encoded as what occurs, as what is said, when we leave a love affair and suddenly have to live again outside of that dream, that dream where something could occur, might occur, should occur, would occur, could have occurred, might have occurred, should have occurred, or would have occurred.

—Jenny Boully, from Betwixt-and-Between: Essays on the Writing Life (Coffee House Press, April 2018)

#quotations #jenny boully #verb tenses #writing #dreams #the past imagined #the future imagined #betwixt and between

[pratchettquotes]

"What's it like, being a wereman?" said Windle.

Lupine shrugged. "Lonely," he said.

"Hmm?"

"You don't fit in, you see. When I'm a wolf I remember what it's like to be a man, and vice versa. Like...I mean...sometimes...sometimes, right, when I'm wolf-shaped, I run up into the hills...in the winter, you know, when there's a crescent moon in the sky and a crust on the snow and the hills go on forever...and the other wolves, well, they feel what it's like, of course, but they don't know like I do. To feel and know at the same time. No one else knows what that's like. That's the bad part. Knowing there's no one else..."

Windle became aware of teetering on the edge of a pit of sorrows. He never knew what to say in moments like this.

Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

#windle poons #lupine #reaper man #discworld #terry pratchett #werewolf #shapeshifter #wolves #humans #knowing #feeling #unique #lonely #fitting in #liminal spaces #betwixt and between #friendship #empathy #teetering on the edge of a pit of sorrows #to feel and know at the same time

[betwixtyiff]

One long day at the beach~

(Shot in RAW, edited in Lightroom)

#photographers on tumblr #beach #sunset #betwixt and between #venstagram #florida

[genvieve-of-the-wood]

Delicate Razor Sharp Robust Demure Women of All Ages

I’m on a seesaw

and a maiden

sits on one side,

a crone on the other.

I am a mother

in the middle,

with the unexplained urge

to join the crone

and send the maiden flying off

her seat from

the imbalance-

or to push the crone off

and just take her place.

Seesaw and merry go round games,

hanging upside down in a dress

on the monkey bars

not caring what my

underwear looks like,

I want to cry out,

to jump from the top

of the slide on a dare,

to swing until I flip the seat,

to sing as loud as I like,

to pick the dandelions

feeling as fragile as their parachute seeds

as I blow them away,

to stomp on a crack,

to bleed and not weep,

to stand with legs wide apart between

the maiden and crone

and declare myself

High Flaming Witch Ruler Mother

of Roses and Swords-

I am beyond whimsy,

and the only mystery

about women is we have always

been this way.

Which is

whatever way we wish

to be.

We can be deadly

and frail,

stalwart and

falling apart.

Stop telling us

how we must be.

Or go play

somewhere else.

@genvieve-of-the-wood November 4, 2022

#writerscreedchallenge #spilled ink #smittenbypoetry #poetry #fragility #femininity #betwixt and between #no one gets to tell you what a woman should be #genvieve-of-the-wood

[atpverse]

Betwixt and Between update!

I am just... not sending out three chapters for AtPverse Daily.

Chapters 40-42 were all this "mysterious magical meeting" that I had in there, with all the magicians/sorcerers/etc from the land came and talked about the "darkness problem" left behind in the wake of Xehanort's death.

Sounds really cool, honestly. I wrote it while I worked at Disney World. Lots of fun easter eggs.

But that's all it is. Easter eggs. Nothing for the plot, and honestly *I* find it uninteresting reading it again.

When rar and I first talked about sending this stuff out and we were considering what might not get sent out (mostly superfluous stuff from Can't Escape or stuff that didn't Age Well) I remember thinking that those chapters were probably getting axed because they do nothing for the plot.

Well, I axed them. They're still on AO3 (and obviously ffnet) for posterity. If and when I do more major edits on the series, I will try to do them better justice. (And if I can't better incorporate them into the plot, they're just gonna stay axed I suppose??)

If I *do* major edits, it's probably getting reposted on AO3 entirely, and the original will remain up.

Okay, enough rambling for now.

#atpverse daily #betwixt and between #rambling

[songlyr1cs]

“Betwixt and between, a fantastic dream and the fear. D’you wonder where she is this afternoon?”

***

“And even the places that she’s never been with you seem awful empty without her”

***

“You can’t look into those eyes. Down no telephone line. What if you were right first time?”

~ (What If You Were Right the First Time? — Arctic Monkeys)

#arctic monkeys #alex turner #songlyr1cs #brianstorm #what if you were right the first time? #betwixt and between #d’you wonder? #you can’t look into those eyes #I <3 alex turner #I <3 this song #the fear #this afternoon #Spotify

[maskedgremlin]

Death, the occult, and unsolved disappearances all revolving around the discovery of a ritual that summons a mysterious frequency accessed through your TV. An urban legend? Scary story? Possibly just a fun kids game? This thought-to-be-lost unexplained mystery has once again resurfaced and seemingly tuned back into our world. This place between frequencies known as The Lost Channel. For those who have made contact with this horror , stories of brainwashing, the paranormal, interactions with otherworldly figures and parallel realities are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these scary stories of those who have crossed it's path. A warning to the curious, not all who tune in, tune back out ]:}

Join me as I craft and unravel the eerie tale of The Lost Channel.

#paranormal #queer stuff #drag thing #liminal #mystery #storytelling #scary story #editing #mask maker #spooky #autumm #making stuff #devil horns #tv channel #inbetween #betwixt and between #i dont know how to do tags #urbanlegends

[days-of-reading]

Peter Mendelsund and David J. Alworth, The Look of the Book (2020)

#medium #genre theory #book covers #lit crit #currently reading #david j alworth #peter mendelsund #mixology #betwixt and between

[stimtickle]

I went into his prison cell

To write his story, if he'd tell

He spoke as tears, fell from his eyes

And told me when, and how and why

And he said

I asked my love to take a walk

Just to walk, a little ways

And as we walked, then we could talk

About our future wedding day

But when she said, she could never be mine

Well I held a knife against her breast

As into my arms she pressed

She cried "my love, don't you murder me

'Cause I'm not prepared for eternity"

Then only say that you'll be mine

And in no others' arms entwine

Down beside where the waters flow

Down by the banks of the Ohio

I started home twixt twelve and one

I cried, "My God, what have I done?"

I've killed the one I love tonight

Because she would not be my bride

Well only say that you'll be mine

And in no others' arms entwine

Down beside where the waters flow

Down by the banks of the Ohio

Down by the banks of the Ohio

Save my soul Lord

Save my soul

There beside where the waters flow

Down by the banks of the Ohio

-Banks of the Ohio/Dolly Parton

#dolly parton #banks of the Ohio #betwixt and between

[pentanguine]

Have just extricated myself from the worst case of binding mis-sizing since the XS Sports Bra of Denial in 2017.

Like, I had this thing on for maybe five minutes, it's half an hour later, and my shoulders still ache like hell, my hands are tingly, and my throat hurts from when I broke out coughing while trying to get it off. That was painful! Holy shit! And this was the size their sizing chart said I was! Oh my god!

Unsure how to proceed.

#this was a swimsuit i bought from a reputable and well-established gender affirming swimwear company #and i don't think the problem is with their garments it's just how i apparently (don't) fit into their sizing chart #i think it's either that my upper body is larger than expected given my lower body #or that my chest is...sadly...technically in the next size up from the one i bought #but it was actually fine in the chest? it just hurt so badly around my armpits/upper back/neck #anyway that was an experience #i have bought the wrong size of things before. i have never been in like. this much PAIN from buying the wrong size #unrelated: #OH MY GOD say what you will about tumblr's new post editor but they save drafts automatically??? #AND YOU CAN REARRANGE TAGS #personal #betwixt and between

[thegothicalice]

Betwixt Between 📚 Tiny bookstore facade with upper apartment! In an 11”x14” shadowbox; cardboard, wood, acetate, moss, paint and paper, with premade bottles & planters.

#my art #miniatures #diy projects #mini scene #shadowbox #bookstore #mini bookstore #betwixt between #tiny things

[rustbeltjessie]

The brittle nature of things makes us love them and wish to preserve them. Only when your grandmother is old do you begin to wish that she would live forever. Only when a keepsake begins to show signs of decay or when a beloved sweater begins to fray do we want to treat it more tenderly or perhaps handle it less than we should like. —Jenny Boully, from Betwixt-and-Between: Essays on the Writing Life (Coffee House Press, April 2018)

The way things become more lustrous, dearer, when we know they, or we, are disappearing. (This might be, incidentally, the beginning of an ethics.) —Ross Gay, from Inciting Joy (Algonquin, 2022)

#quotations #typography #jenny boully #ross gay #don’t it always seem to go #that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone #betwixt and between #inciting joy #mini quote collection

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

Ah, Major Winchester, the party of one! Dinner is served.

#MASH #Maxwell Q Klinger #Charles Emerson Winchester III #MASH gif #MASH TV #THE THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET TWO DIFFERENT BITS OF SEQUENTIAL TEXT ON ONE GIF.... PHOTOPEA VIOLATING THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS AGAINST ME #I was so torn on the caption also. Could NOT decide between that and ''Sorry sir; no hemlock. But I can get you some ketchup.'' #but the opening line is sooooo fucking much.... the party of one.... the way Max always fucking Gets It #anyhow. Merry CharMax Eve! #who was it who did the excellent analysis of how the big serious A plot of Death Takes A Holiday actually sucked #come forward I need to reblog that post while I rewatch the ep but specifically only the CharMax storyline #because again: the A plot is nothing but nonsensical and frustrating #Starky's Original Posts #BTW SERVING DOS A COURT SUMMONS VIA OUIJA BOARD SO I CAN PROSECUTE HIS ASS FOR THE MICROEXPRESSIONS IN THAT LAST GIF!!!!!!! #DOS; world's greatest actor and horridest menace: and now Charles will aaaaalmost give in and smile #to express his genuine love and affection for someone. But not quite! hehehe ;P #me; crying: he can't keep getting away with it!!!!!! #charmax #HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO MY BELOVED K <3<3<3 let this gifset symbolize a passionate embrace of consummation betwixt us two #unless that was a weird and too much thing to say in which case [explodes]

[betwixtyiff]

A day at the beach kept my heart so full

(Shot in RAW edited in Lightroom)

#venstagram #beach #sky #sunset #betwixt and between #photographers on tumblr

[regicidal-defenestration]

In my (very limited*) experience with Big Finish they seem incredibly allergic to making speaking non-diegetic like, if a voice is heard that is a character speaking out loud and if multiple characters are in a scene one character saying things means the other must be stood silently waiting for them to finish like. Come one we can get a bit more interesting than this

#especially compared to other audio dramas I like #like I Am In Eskew almost entirely narration; Kane and Feels switches rapidly between speech and narration and thoughts; The Silt Verses #have the famous endless stairs because a character's monologue (soliloquy?) as they walk exists in a different time frame to the actual tim #taken to walk down the stairs #get a bit silly with it! #*Storm Warning and part 1 of Neverland #also when I tried to write between up there autocorrect suggested betwixt which is a great word unfortunately this post is pretentious #enough already