Aggrandize Softly
Why Puffing Out Your Chest is Always Puffing Out Your Chest
I was watching a French black & white movie tonight, and in the introductory scene, a young rebellious hipster poet assures his friend that he doesn’t want to become a famous poet. He wants to remain anonymous. I found this a curious statement.
On further, if not protracted, pondering, I concluded that a search for anonymity implies the option, of achieving fame (or possibly infamy) or of finding a place in an eternal pantheon of social wallflowers. This, then, implies a greater egotism than the poet who proclaims that her name will be an archetypal herald of effusion. A named author anchors herself into her history; the anonymous author, who achieves renowned anonymity, defies this shackle, at the price of sharing his glory.
If you had the choice, how would you make it?
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