Thank you for adding the audio, Jeffrey. Your voice adds such a warm and gentle quality to the words. And the finish... "Perhaps my best years are gone. But I wouldn’t want them back. Not with the fire in me now… No, I wouldn't want them back."
Jeffrey this was pure heaven, I listened while I read, but would have been equally beguiled with either without the other, I love that you entwine your own story so dextrously with that of Krapp, that you speak so personally of the fragility and mystery of a first love, “Love occurs perhaps when the radical unknowability of another person becomes a holy mystery.” - how beautiful and thought provoking this line is.
Thank you for commenting, John. Yes, it would be a hard to grasp the play, I imagine, with just the words in front of you. I think our teacher at school, long before the internet, somehow tracked down a version of Waiting for Godot for us to see.
Hi Jeffrey, I love listening to you! I enjoy reading, but you have a delightful, soothing voice. Thanks for sharing your stories with us. Have a beautiful Sunday!
Thank you, Maureen! To be honest, the more recordings I do, the less confident about them I become, so your words are especially welcome. It's now Monday morning here in Tokyo and the coler weather has arrived at last! Have a great Sunday evening.
Wow, Lani, I'm humbled by your words! The moments described and the play itself all mean a lot to me, of course. I was keen to write it down, but didn't know where it would take me. Thank you for your vote of confidence!
Lovely writing, as usual, but this one is also so cinematic. I admire how you describe the visual world in words then resist bringing us inside, so the emotions remain that “holy mystery.” So well done!
Thank you, Victoria! Cinematic writing is something I can sometimes identify in others and always admire. I'd never thought about it in relation to my own writing, so this really gives me something new to think about. Thank you so much!
A beautifully realized conversation between your young self, your current self and a work of literature. I do not know Krapp’s Last Tape and did not need to know, with you as my guide.
Thank you so much, Rona! I’m so glad to hear that it worked without prior knowledge of the play. When sharing private obsessions, I’m conscious of the risk of assuming everyone automatically knows what we’re talking about.
It might not surprise you to know this was among my favorite lines of this piece: “But I followed the trade winds to the Americas, then the ocean currents to East Asia, then went overland along the spice road to Europe, West Asia, and North Africa.” I love how much space and time exists in this one way.
And I love the way you describe your coming together with M.
Thank you, Holly! No, maybe I'm not surprised that thsi line appealed to you 😊. It went through many drafts, though. You'll know about the writing process this better than me, but sometimes I hear the shape of a line but whatever I write (to quote from Molloy), it's always too much and never enough.
Oh yes, those lines. I sometimes wish I could reach into the part of my mind where I think they must live—or their shapes, as you put it so well do—and pull them out and drop them onto the page fully formed. The finger to keyboard or pen to paper method can result in many a wholly unformed translation. ;)
A lovely piece Jeffrey and you bring out the yearning, lyrical beauty of Beckett’s writing. Is this the play in which he talks about his mother? For some reason the line ‘drowning in dreams and longing to be gone’ has come into my mind.
Thank you, Ann. I'm not sure about that line but Krapp recounts how he watches the house where his mother is dying from a certain distance. It's a multifaceted play, but it's the love story in it that speaks to me, as well as teh yearning/not yearning for younger days.
Jeffrey, every week, you manage to deliver articles of a consistent yet surprising depth and beauty. I should read Beckett. And your reading's really good – I'm so jealous of your elegant elocution, and posh but not off-putting English pronunciation!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Yi! I think most cities look better at night. That's certainly the case with where I am now, Tokyo.
I'm not sure there's an easy entry point to Beckett. For the plays, seeing a live performance of Waiting for Godot would be my suggestion. For the fiction, perhaps Murphy or Molloy. The latter is widely considered his best sustained prose work.
Thank you for adding the audio, Jeffrey. Your voice adds such a warm and gentle quality to the words. And the finish... "Perhaps my best years are gone. But I wouldn’t want them back. Not with the fire in me now… No, I wouldn't want them back."
Beautiful.
Thank you, Sarah! Yes, I've always loved those words. Beautifully poised between regret and excitement.
Jeffrey this was pure heaven, I listened while I read, but would have been equally beguiled with either without the other, I love that you entwine your own story so dextrously with that of Krapp, that you speak so personally of the fragility and mystery of a first love, “Love occurs perhaps when the radical unknowability of another person becomes a holy mystery.” - how beautiful and thought provoking this line is.
Thank you so much for sharing 🙏🏼
Gosh, that's very kind of you to say, Susie! I enjoyed writing this and I am so glad that you enjoyed reading it.
ive had some success teaching Endgame. they need to see the play.
Thank you for commenting, John. Yes, it would be a hard to grasp the play, I imagine, with just the words in front of you. I think our teacher at school, long before the internet, somehow tracked down a version of Waiting for Godot for us to see.
I really enjoyed the way you connected your own experience to that of Krapp’s. Its very engaging and the writing was lovely.
Thanks Jeffrey :)
I really enjoyed the way you connected your own experience to that of Krapp’s. Its very engaging and the writing was lovely.
Thanks Jeffrey :)
Thank you, Michael. I really appreciate your generous words.
Hi Jeffrey, I love listening to you! I enjoy reading, but you have a delightful, soothing voice. Thanks for sharing your stories with us. Have a beautiful Sunday!
Thank you, Maureen! To be honest, the more recordings I do, the less confident about them I become, so your words are especially welcome. It's now Monday morning here in Tokyo and the coler weather has arrived at last! Have a great Sunday evening.
This was AUH-MAZING, Jeffrey. I love your writing here. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I'll try:
"Geography was simplified into the shimmering city, the dark wooded hills, and M.
I’ve no idea how long we stood there, staring at the view, dizzy with unspoken meaning."
You've weaved and wrapped us up in your story, your 1988. You've outdone yourself. Bravo.
Wow, Lani, I'm humbled by your words! The moments described and the play itself all mean a lot to me, of course. I was keen to write it down, but didn't know where it would take me. Thank you for your vote of confidence!
Lovely writing, as usual, but this one is also so cinematic. I admire how you describe the visual world in words then resist bringing us inside, so the emotions remain that “holy mystery.” So well done!
Thank you, Victoria! Cinematic writing is something I can sometimes identify in others and always admire. I'd never thought about it in relation to my own writing, so this really gives me something new to think about. Thank you so much!
Beautiful weaving of the personal and poetic, Mr. Streeter!
🙏Thank you so much, Troy!
A beautifully realized conversation between your young self, your current self and a work of literature. I do not know Krapp’s Last Tape and did not need to know, with you as my guide.
Thank you so much, Rona! I’m so glad to hear that it worked without prior knowledge of the play. When sharing private obsessions, I’m conscious of the risk of assuming everyone automatically knows what we’re talking about.
It might not surprise you to know this was among my favorite lines of this piece: “But I followed the trade winds to the Americas, then the ocean currents to East Asia, then went overland along the spice road to Europe, West Asia, and North Africa.” I love how much space and time exists in this one way.
And I love the way you describe your coming together with M.
To us all being less harsh on our former selves.
Thank you, Holly! No, maybe I'm not surprised that thsi line appealed to you 😊. It went through many drafts, though. You'll know about the writing process this better than me, but sometimes I hear the shape of a line but whatever I write (to quote from Molloy), it's always too much and never enough.
Oh yes, those lines. I sometimes wish I could reach into the part of my mind where I think they must live—or their shapes, as you put it so well do—and pull them out and drop them onto the page fully formed. The finger to keyboard or pen to paper method can result in many a wholly unformed translation. ;)
Holly, your “translations” seem perfectly realised!
Awwwww, thank you. Back at ya, my friend.
A lovely piece Jeffrey and you bring out the yearning, lyrical beauty of Beckett’s writing. Is this the play in which he talks about his mother? For some reason the line ‘drowning in dreams and longing to be gone’ has come into my mind.
Thank you, Ann. I'm not sure about that line but Krapp recounts how he watches the house where his mother is dying from a certain distance. It's a multifaceted play, but it's the love story in it that speaks to me, as well as teh yearning/not yearning for younger days.
“I followed the trade winds…” this just captures the feeling to the whole piece in such a lovely way. A joy to read!
What a haunting piece.
Thank you, June!
Jeffrey, every week, you manage to deliver articles of a consistent yet surprising depth and beauty. I should read Beckett. And your reading's really good – I'm so jealous of your elegant elocution, and posh but not off-putting English pronunciation!
Thank you, Portia, for those very kind words.
I wasn’t aware I sound posh though 🙃
Thank you for reading and supporting.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Yi! I think most cities look better at night. That's certainly the case with where I am now, Tokyo.
I'm not sure there's an easy entry point to Beckett. For the plays, seeing a live performance of Waiting for Godot would be my suggestion. For the fiction, perhaps Murphy or Molloy. The latter is widely considered his best sustained prose work.