Eileen Julien's "Ode to Writing"

At last week's panel with IU women scholars, Eileen Julien recited an ode about why she writes. She has graciously allowed us to share it on our blog.

Ode to Writing

Write to read
Write to learn
Write to question
Write to doubt
Write to discover
Write to unearth
Write to understand
Write to see
Write to soar

Write to describe
Write to distill
Write to explain
Write to tell
Write to affirm
Write to persuade
Write to inspire
Write to witness
Write to clarify
Write to challenge
Write to provoke
Write to share
Write to comfort

Write to remember
Write to feel
Write to confess
Write to cry
Write to let go
Write to laugh
Write to sing
Write to love
Write to grow
Write to dream
Write to live

Eileen Julien is Professor of Comparative Literature, African American and African Diaspora Studies, and French and Italian at Indiana University Bloomington. She is author of African Novels and the Question of Orality (IUP, 1992) and Travels with Mae (IUP, 2009).