Kenneth Burke writes:
“The unending conversation has been going on at the point in history when we are born. Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer them; another comes…. the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.”
Beginning June 2016 we are inviting Marcus’ friends and colleagues who have been influenced by Marcus’ work to “put in their oar” and share a personal reflection and an open ended question. These reflections will become part of our website and Facebook page.
The ellipsis, a phrase excluded from Burke’s quote is this: “Someone answers; you answer them; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally’s assistance.” Our hope is that our conversations will not be defensive nor embarrassments. Marcus had a wonderful capacity to hear people’s concerns, questions, doubts, frustrations, honor them and respond to them with respect. He also had a gift for clarity. Marcus never belittled anyone’s commitments or quests. I hope the same for the conversations we will engage.
We will feature a contributor every month. And even though Marcus has departed the conversation it continues… and as long as we live, it will be unending.
