Pillow Book and S/Z

Pillow Book authored by Sei Shonagon, is the pre-modern version of a series of observations and events much like a diary of sorts, however it concerns happenings of other people more so then occurrences of the author explicitly. This form of writing is very easy to read, however to comprehend and absorb it all is the true task. This task was apparent in Roland Barthes’ S/Z as well. Thanks to his constant nagging commentary in the parentheses, actually interpreting the text consumed much revisiting the previous sentence to find the context (despite his claim that “re-reading” is something to ignore).

The Pillow Book, Rewriting, S/Z

Maybe it’s just my lack of concentration, but of the 50some pages of reading assigned, the one that came to mind first when I started to write this blog was the page accidentally scanned dog-eared from The Pillow Book. But maybe I can interpret that as my tendency to focus on the out-of-the-ordinary when it comes to written works? We'll go with that. I am much more drawn to books and poems that have an atypical structure or an especially unique voice. This reasoning may be why I enjoyed most of the second excerpt from The Pillow Book. I like Shonagon’s use of lists, and how, while simply categorizing stated observations, there is an underlying commentary about each item. The structure of Harris’ Rewriting is what initially caught me. Rather than naming the sources he uses in a bibliography at the end of the book, he puts his methods to a more visual use by incorporating them in the text. The excerpt from Barthes’ “S/Z” kind of threw me, but a line from the section 'How Many Readings?' that I found somewhat relatable was “rereading is no longer consumption, but play (that play which is the return of the different)” (16). This connects directly to Harris’ idea of “rewriting”, not only taking literature and absorbing the text but also seeing what you can do with it. Since literature is written to be read, having the audience put a little bit of themself and their thoughts only seems to abide by the author's intentions.

The Pillow Book, S/Z

Reading the Pillow Book with some background information on the author and time period it was produced from gives me a slightly different viewpoint on it. I understand the public journal style of writing, which is an interesting concept. I have some experience writing that sort of journal but only that I knew my teacher would read, which isn't the same type of "public" the author relays information to. Shonagon seems very aware of her audience, which is very unlike a true diary. She states once that she will include certain things in her work, even if the reader will take them as unpleasant.

S/Z's importance was lost on me. At this point, upon my first overwhelming reading, I don't know how this reading correlates to learning about literature. I can pretty much grasp what is being said, but I think it is overly complicated. Maybe my trouble comprehending the piece is completely personal, but I had a hard time taking very much from it. I did find importance in the idea that rereading is taking the writing out of chronological context. When you're reading something, there is only what has already happened and what is presently happening and then the future is completely seperate and can only be approached in a linear progression. When you reread a piece, it's not cyclical but the information is all within reach.

"Intro to Rewriting," "S/Z," "The Pillow Book"

The introduction to Rewriting basically gave an overview of how the book aims to sharpen one's writing skills. It seems pretty interesting. I know I can always use improvement. I really enjoyed reading this second excerpt of "The Pillow Book" after we discussed it in class. I focused on why she wrote what she did and what that says about her culture. I especially enjoyed the part about the morning dew and her witticisms about men. S/Z brought up some good points about actively reading and analyzing the text. Barthes comments on writerly and readerly works was a unique and intriguing way to think about literature and how one enjoys it. That is one thing I really value about literature, one can really read a work on so many different levels.

S/Z, The Pillow Book, Rewriting

After reading the second excerpt from The Pillow Book, I once again found it very intriguing. I read it differently from the first section after talking about the book in class and discovering that yes it was written in a "diary" form, however, it is not the same way we think of diary, it was meant for public viewing. After reading the S/Z essay, I did note that he did talk about re-reading texts. I my self don't really enjoy reading a text more than once because I feel like I already know everything that is going to happen and that makes the book less enjoyable for me. I will occasionally re-read a text if it has been a while and I really enjoyed the book in the past. Rewriting didn't really strike me but then again it was only the intro and I try not to judge things to harshly before I really get into them.

The Pillow Book, S/Z, and Rewriting

I thoroughly enjoyed the way the observations were documented through the literature in second excerpt of “The Pillow Book”. Coming back to the idea of what literature is, I really think that this reinforces the boundaries are endless; in a sense that she is just taking the simplest of observations and turning it into literature. This breaks the idea all previous notions I had of what literature really is; and I enjoy it. The readings which followed “The Pillow Book” were not as enjoyable. To me “S/Z” really just reinforced the relationship between an author and the reader, as well as the practice or repetition between writing and reading involving literature. It was rather boring. Reading through the introduction to “Rewriting” was rather obvious; just a quick idea of what is to follow when learning how to better ourselves as a writer.

S/Z, The Pillow Book, Rewriting

After reading all three of this sections readings, I found myself regretting not looking Joseph Harris's book first. This text was most interesting for me for a number of reasons. Before I read 'Rewriting', excerpts from 'The Pillow Book' and 'S/Z' felt rather meaningless and dull to me. I understood that the latter texts were aimed to help me better critically analyze literature, but gave me no motivation to actually delve deeper into them. However, after reading a few chapters and the introduction of Joseph Harris's book, I found myself wanting to go back over the previous texts I had read and use my new found methods of critically reading and try and re envision exactly the message that is being portrayed. Just after reading the first two chapters of Harris's book had me thinking about "rewriting" in a different way. I now understand that even if you cannot maintain a neutral stance on a topic while reading, it is still important to compare and contrast your indifference's you may have with a text in a way that will help you better understand the reading.