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TAKING A LIGHTLY EDITED DEEP SOUTH DAY OFF
I am strolling, trolling the aisles of a sacred site, what I call the Cathedral of Books.
I pause for a moment, close my eyes, and try to remember what the poet Juan Ramon Jimenez once said:
“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.”
I have cruised thousands of book lanes in my bookie life. How can I make this particular moment different and memorable? What is the opposite of browsing?
I close my eyes. I extend my right arm straight out to the side. I feel the spine of an invisible book. I tell myself, This is the book with which I will surprise myself today.
I pull the book to my chest, hold it close for a moment, then raise my upper lids and look down to see what’s being cradled.
A title I’ve never read. Hmm…
I am ready to feel the heft and texture and fragrance of an object produced by an olden bindery. Upon close inspection I note that a modern publisher has reproduced this book to give the first impression of early times. It is actually a recent copy.
I excitedly examine the title page inside, then the back of the title page to see who has loved the author’s work so much that it has been re-animated for this century’s readers.
Then, two words jump at me. Words that cause fear and loathing in the heart of any lover of prose and poetry. These most disturbing words are just below the copyright data on the back the first title page:
“LIGHTLY EDITED.”
I close the volume. I consider whether to purchase it, then hide it away from all possible prying eyes. I feel I am in the presence of a sacred object that has been vandalized.
Why would anyone LIGHTLY EDIT an ancient author’s prized work?
My imagination gets the worst of me and I suddenly envision great literature LIGHTLY EDITED.
The Bible: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Then, he took a day off.”
Mustn’t burden the reader with extraneous information.
Moby Dick: “Call me Ishmael. I got to go sailing and saw a big whale.”
That’s story enough. Our readers have to get back to whatever it is they do when they are not reading.
Goodnight Moon: “Goodnight, Moon. The end.”
LIGHTLY EDITED.
Someday, when books I have written are discovered at some obscure yard sale, will the electronically internetted cyborged purchaser pick them up, unopened, tie a silk ribbon around them, arrange them artfully on a coffee table with an old pair of wire rimmed eyeglasses atop, then abandon them till they become dust repositories?
Till they once again wind up in a thrift bin or another yard sale?
I pause again, affectionately pat this orphaned and transmogrified work of art, extend my sympathies and condolences.
Then, I continue trolling the aisles for an unedited copy of this work, one unsullied by abridgers eager to remake the world in their own image.
That’s the version I’ll gladly read on the next day I take off
© 2019 A.D. by Jim Reed
https://www.jimreedbooks.com/podcast/