Running for Your Life: I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place

So much of good writing comes from careful listening. I was struck this week (March 18) by the fragment of a line in my daily reading of the London Review of Books … “As [the author] remarks in one of the few aesthetically pleasing sentences in the book . . .” Good writing is like good music; it demands an ear. I like to take time when I write sentences, especially when telling a story. A story well told is a gift that nourishes the soul.

Howard Norman, an author I admire, wrote an essay from the above line, “I hate to leave this beautiful place.” I read it a week ago and it has stayed with me. Outside of love and the rare friendship I find few things in life have the staying power of a story well told.

“I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place” is a personal essay that mines what matters to me these days. A search for wisdom and understanding through events long gone but not forgotten, a different sort of the faraway nearby. And like the memoir by Rebecca Solnit of that name (see previous post), I picked up an advance copy of Howard Norman’s memoir (of the same title, “I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place,”) this month at The Post. It, too, has arrived at a propitious time.

“IHTLTBP” is for old souls. Topics range from superstitious bush pilots, Eskimo rock’n’ rollers, John Lennon’s killing, a god-like radio announcer, a hint of murder, cannibalism and snow globes. In short, a wise folk tale for the modern age crafted by a writer with the ear of a poet.

As winter wanes here in New York, “IHTLTBP” has warmed my heart.

Next: Running for Your Life: Spring Goals