tobi haslett on the motive energies of ideal writing.
A sentence can be a very complicated machine that should nevertheless run. Some people have decided to recuse themselves from the responsibility to make sure that the machine runs. And then there are some people who care so much about making the machine run that the task it performs is too simple. Ideally, a sentence or paragraph will aim for something sophisticated—and actually get there.
— Tobi Haslett, “Violent Antagonisms,” a conversation with Jessica Swoboda, The Point, 17 May 2022