What Makes Art

I think that contemplating these two sentences is actually very useful to get a feel for what makes art. Look, for example, at how the words “more vulnerable” in the original slyly undermine what comes after them. The narrator seems to be saying that his father’s advice only stuck because he was vulnerable. Would he have noticed the father’s words otherwise?

Then, let’s look at “turning over in my mind” as opposed to “still think about.” It’s kind of the same but not really. “Turning over” feels different. “More vulnerable” and “turning over” are little hooks that the sentence gets into us, and it becomes part of us, maybe for a bit or maybe forever.

My whole thing is to see these hooks and figure out why they snag me. Life would be a lot more boring if all we had were these straightforward, robotic sentences that deliver information and do nothing else.