Tâtonner

When I read this passage from William Matthews's contribtution to Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms I was put in mind of the French verb "tâtonner" and its cousin "tâter".

Of course the preceding paragraph is written with hindsight, rather than with the attentive bumbling and diligent indolence that accompany composition.

It's the "attentive bumbling" that caught me and the "diligent indolence" that retained my attention. But my reading slips and I read "occupy" for "accompany". —— attentive bumbling and diligent indolence that occupy composition...

And the thought of occupying with delight the space of composition recalls for me this passage

Composition, a being together in the same space, can become dialogue, a passing through the same space.

x responds to y

Indeed the coming together to occupy the same space for a matter of time can be conceived as a dialogue. To make a composition is to engage in dialogue.

from 2003 http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/rockwell part of a conversation with Geoffrey Rockwell

Amazing what tricks memory can play when set to exploring mode of the light touch in search of the mot juste for "tâtonner".

And so for day 835
27.03.2009&