Ander Monson on Mary Ruefle

… a short post on the essay, erasure, the brain on the page, & the brilliant Mary Ruefle.

First your life is erased, then you are erased. Don’t tell me that erasure is beside the point, an artsy fragment of the healthy whole. If it is an appropriation, it is an appropriation of every life that has preceded your own, just as those in the future will appropriate yours; they will appropriate your very needs, your desires, your gestures, your questions, and your words.

Ander, as always, is well worth the read.