Dark Angels Note 130
Dearest Friends—
Welcome back to our weekly Friday Note.
Observing
This week we are celebrating the birthday of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, who was born in Kyoto, Japan on January 12, 1949. Before becoming a writer, he ran a jazz bar with his wife, which he ran for seven years. Despite a love of reading, he never wanted to write a novel, thinking he “ possessed neither the talent nor the qualifications to be a good novelist.”
His “moment of inspiration” came while watching a baseball game in 1978. When Dave Hilton hit a home run, Murakami caught on to the idea that he could write a novel. So, he went home and put pen to paper. His first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won a new writers’ award.
Reading
When Murakami sat down to write his first novel, he soon realised that it was hopeless to try and write a novel with the style and structure that he assumed a novel should be written. Switching to writing in English turned out to be the perfect constraint that helped form his unique style. Read: ‘I want to open a window in their souls’: Haruki Murakami on the power of writing simply.
Writing
In the above piece, Murakami says that he discovered his original voice “not by adding to what I already knew but subtracting from it.” So, try this: Take a piece of writing and re-write it your own way, as simply and succinctly as you can.
Sharing
Keep sending us your poems, writings, links and writerly whatnots that you’d like to share with the wider Dark Angels family.
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Diary
Hearts, Inspired, 16-21 June 2023
Join Jamie Jauncey and Richard Pelletier for a 5-day writing retreat on Whidbey Island, in the US Pacific Northwest. We’ll explore writing, creativity and inspiration through guided writing, personal projects and time in nature. Find out more here.
Weekly Tuesday Gatherings
Join us for a reflective hour of reading, writing and communing led by Neil Baker. Everyone is welcome; in fact, invite a friend along. We meet at 7pm UK time. To join us, click here on the night. There’s no need to register in advance and we’ll be using the same link every week from now on.
Be well, keep reading, keep writing and know that we’re always here.
From everyone at Dark Angels