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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Thoughts on Beckett

One of my favorite quotes comes from one of my favorite playwrights, Samuel Beckett. It goes: "I can't go on. I must go on. I'll go on." I loved this quote even before chronic pain began attacking my body and I identify with it even more now.

I could expand on it, explain all the times and all the ways this has rung true for my life with chronic pain (heck, for life in general) but Mr. Beckett put it so simply, so perfectly that there really is nothing more to say. His talent for sublime brevity is what I love most about his writings. Of course he wrote like that because he hated words - and I love it because I love words.

Anyway, I've been thinking about this quote lately, which got me thinking about his plays. I hadn't put a whole lot of thought into them in several years. Doing so through the Fibro/Migraine lens of today, I find these works that spoke to me back then seem to speak about me now. Instead of being simply moved by them I feel like I can relate.

If you have never read or seen a Beckett play I would highly recommend it. My favorite is Ohio Impromptu.

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