Lightness

Lightness

I thought Calvino did a wonderful job of articulating such abstract and almost other-worldly notions in “Lightness”. His use of mythology to extrapolate meaning and symbolism that still embodies our present day ways of living was much appreciated. Most importantly, the specific subject matter of lightness vs. heaviness is one I find infinitely fascinating. One of the questions this aroused in me throughout the course of the reading was a thought that’s been reoccurring a lot for me over the past 4 months: are writer’s fated to feel the heaviness in its fuller weight than perhaps some of humanity? Is that what drives them on to write, to create, an act of almost transforming heaviness into lightness. Is writing the journey of that action, at least at times? I suppose the reverse often happens as well, something written lightly can have more weight than one can fathom when done at the hand of a skilled artist. I also greatly appreciate the inclusion of science’s version of weight and lightness. Calvino masterfully finds ways to expand what he is saying to such a large audience, spanning the topics of art and science, and merging them with this common theme of lightness.