Hierogrammates, Briah and Yesod

Lane Haygood · 11 Aug 2010, 15:57 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: lhaygood at gmail.com (Lane Haygood)
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:57:29 -0500
Subject: (urth) Hierogrammates, Briah and Yesod
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Speaking as a writer of far less than Wolfe's caliber, I think we
might overestimate the strength of writers that create wonderful
puzzles.  Sometimes, it is deliberate, but more often than not the
puzzle/allusion/reference/whatever presents itself organically out of
our own subconscious organization of the material into a narrative.
The interpretation takes on a life of its own.

I recall one short story that I am currently shopping out to various
publications.  During the reading/revision period, one of my
critiquers went on and on about the lovely allegory I was making.  Too
bad that it was entirely unintentional, but after considering her
comments next to the story, I had to agree that it appeared, for all
intents and purposes, as if I had intended to put a little allegory
there.

Which is to say that, for a mind much more cunning and devious than my
own, I am sure Wolfe's subconscious often slips things in that he is
unaware of, as romantic of the notion of him as a master plotter
sitting alone in a candle-lit room, banging away at an old typewriter
and chuckling to himself about how he'll really get us with this next
one is.

LH

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