Comments on: THIS BOUNTIFUL WORLD

By: Sherry

Sherry — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:20:50 +0000

The random rocks of Zen gardens evoke the inner desire for peace in the chaos of humanity as they rest amid the rectangular mass of serenity surrounded by a world less orderly. Yin-Yang yearnings of balance.

By: Jerry Dennis

Jerry Dennis — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:42:10 +0000

Thanks P.J. I’ve mined some great lists from Henry Miller, but hadn’t thought of Salinger as a list-maker. It’s time for a revisit. Also, I hope to spend some time with the raked-sand gardens. I’ve always wondered: why are the “random” arrangements of rocks in those gardens so pleasing to the eye, while the truly random arrangements on a beach are so easy to overlook? Is it because a garden focuses our attention?

By: Pamela Grath

Pamela Grath — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:17:25 +0000

Two writers come immediately to my mind: Henry Miller and J. D. Salinger. AN ACCIDENTAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY, by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, which I read not long ago, is full of them, too. You’re so right about the importance of the writer arranging and presenting the list. It can be deadly, or it can be lyrical. The Japanese garden reminds me of a different kind of Japanese garden, that of raked sand and rocks. In the autumn when leaves fall, most are removed–but not all! A few, artfully arranged, are left to imply Nature’s “harmonious disarray.” Thank you for that lovely phrase and the associations it has for you.