I need to start off by saying that Joseph Harris has a way of saying what he needs to say with a few too many words. I felt as if I understood his point the first time he stated it and gave an example. That said, there was plenty to learn from his writing. Harris defined writing in a way that connected it closely with reading. He started off in the introduction by saying that most academic writing pieces are responses to the works of others. I interpreted this as him saying that as writers we must be readers. We need to use the work of others to form our own perspectives and viewpoints.
Harris says, “My advice here is to imagine yourself as rewriting – as drawing from, commenting on, adding to – the work of others.” This advice that he offers, connects authors closely with one another. The way that he presents it, it is as if non-fiction authors cannot and should not create works without reference to another authors work. This is not simply because written pieces aren’t as relevant or beneficial without connections to others. It also ties in to the purpose of writing itself. In writing, we are presenting our ideas to others but before we do that we are formulating new ideas ourselves. This sparks us to think more in depth about a subject, using others ideas and progressing beyond them.
In looking at how this connects to Sullivan’s “Why I Blog,” I came up with a major similarity. Blogging, as Sullivan puts it serves the purpose of connecting the author with the reader. The way Harris describes coming to terms with another writers work is much the same. Harris explains that in writing, an author needs to use others pieces and develop our own thoughts. In reading a blog you can comment back to the author or link them directly on your blog. It is easy to quote other blogs; something Harris emphasizes is crucial to rewriting. Blogging seems the ideal way to come to terms with others ideas and expand off of them.
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