i love this quote — i love how gordimer describes writing as the most extreme of acts.

on an entirely different note:

i wonder what you guys think about writers hanging out with writers: for me, i sometimes feel driven to an almost maddening degree of self-consciousness. the dialogue feels strangely circular, and the conversation feels often more about words than about life. why is this so? how can writers break out of this prison? creative cross-fertilization, perhaps? make new painter/actor/accountant-friends? i also acknowledge and value the importance of community for the writer, because the act of writing is inherently lonely.