The Art of Conversation
“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.”
Henry David ThoreauBlogging engages us in the art of conversation. Every post and comment brings us together in a 24/7 dialogue to share knowledge and experiences. We participate in an international community made possible by technology that overcomes the hurdles of time, location, distance and language.
Over the past decade, the format for communicating has experienced radical transformation, from text messaging abbreviations and photographs to video chats and “likes” and “shares.” We want fast, efficient and in real-time. Whether content transmits the full message is debatable; nevertheless we persist in our quest for rapid connection. Through it all, we seek camaraderie and friendship.
Quotations have become a popular means by which to exchange ideas and emotional sentiments quickly and effortlessly. Over the past few days, I have enjoyed a wonderful conversation with my dear friends, Dina, Klausbernd, Siri and Selma, about this very subject. I share Dina’s and Selma’s enthusiasm for quotes, but understand Klausbernd’s and Siri’s criticism for the indiscriminate use of quotations. I invite you to share in the discussion. Klausbernd played the advocatus diaboli brilliantly, with humour, reflection, and best of all, candour. Dina’s photographs and choice of quotes brought laughter and tears to my eyes. This is the art of conversation at its best…
Siri: “Do you really know what a quote is?”
Selma: “A tattoo on the lips.”
Siri: “Weißt du, was ein Zitat ist?”
Selma: „Klar doch, eine Tätowierung der Lippen.“
When I read Rebecca’s celebration of quotes on her marvellous blog ChasingArt I felt the urge to contradict playing the advocatus diaboli. I am surrounded by quote-lovers like Rebecca, Dina, and Selma whereas I am as my dear Bookfayrie Siri are sceptical about using quotes. Too often I came across quotes that everybody has read before or quotes of obscure authors and origin.
Als ich Rebeccas Lob der Zitate auf ihrem hervorragenden Blog ChasingArt las, konnte ich nichts dagegen tun, ich musste widersprechend den advocatus diaboli spielen. Ja, ja, ich Armer bin umzingelt von Zitatenfreaks wie Rebecca, Dina und selbst die liebkluge Selma. Meine treue Buchfee Siri und ich sind jedoch sehr…
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ChasingART 
have to say for me quote’s say what I want to say, sometimes we do not have the words but others do, quote also evoke emotion.
I am glad we can connect 😉
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There is no question that each of us have unique artistic talents – some with a paintbrush, others with a musical instrument. A voice, a dance…
You are so right – people give us words that resonate within our soul. They say exactly what we want to say. To me, that is artistry.
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Don’t you just love Thoreau? Plus too much closeness leads to the Ben Franklin problem……something like “houseguests like fish, tend to start ot smell after three days”……..Praise the non-olfactory attributes of the internet!
Laughing…..
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I love your quote – laughed out loud when I read your comments. So very well said! 🙂
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Indeed, I had to laugh out loud myself! Great quote! 🙂
Big hug!
Dina xo
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Hugs and more hugs coming back your way!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
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although i have a lot of patience, this slow internet is teaching me more patience! i’ve kept your home page on screen for a while, and the pages rarely open \9along with others\)
hopefully i’ll get out of the stone ages one of these months!!!
i miss the late-night swapping of thoughts!
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I so enjoy our conversations!! I’m so glad that we have the technology to connect, even at a slow pace.
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I do so agree. This is a wonderful conversation with a very effective advocatus diaboli. I always learn something new from quotations but I can see how they can be misused and abused sometimes.
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It takes courage to express ideas using our own voice. We always like to have a back-up voice that has a more powerful “brand.” And then there are times when we don’t think that our voice is good enough. Quotations go to the very heart of how we participate in our complex world. I have enjoyed this conversation and will continue to explore that ideas that have come from this discussion. I always appreciate your visits! 🙂
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Most of us are not very good at memorising long passages of prose or even poetry; a good quotation acts like a hook or a tag to those temporarily forgotten words and associated emotions. Or it is a hook to something completely new. Crosswords rely heavily on the hook of a quote. Quotes can be very powerful.
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A very good point about a good quotation acts like a hook or a tag. I also find that quotes act as a catalyst or segue.
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Ah yes, so they do! What lovely words we are gathering; hook, tag, catalyst, segue.
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We can quote each other!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Yes!
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We can and we will!
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🙂 🙂 🙂
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