The Beginning Mind
In Holland Cotter’s review of the Susan Sontag exhibition at the Met, the following lines:
Action was Sontag’s thing. It is the essence of her best essays, with their magnetic drive. They are exhilarating performances. Young people in particular will long be drawn to them. “It’s the beginning mind I embrace,” she wrote. Like the classic enthusiast she was, she saw herself as a beginner, a learner, an ambitious amateur. I bet the advice she gave to students at Vassar College a few years ago she gave herself every day:
“Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.”
