“The Roar on the Other Side of Silence”: Reading the Invisible Life Beyond the Page

Presenter Information

Annette Sission, Belmont UniversityFollow

Location

Janet Ayers Academic Center 4094

Event Website

https://www.belmont.edu/liberal-arts/symposium/index.html

Presentation Type

Presentation

Start Date

27-9-2021 4:00 PM

End Date

27-9-2021 4:50 PM

Description

In her novel Middlemarch, George Eliot (née Mary Ann Evans) observed in 1871, “If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the
grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on
the other side of silence.” This passage employs dramatic metaphor to suggest the
concepts I will explore in this presentation. Using examples from literature and pop
culture, I will discuss how the process of writing and reading makes what’s invisible
visible. Paying attention to what is beyond the page—that is, grappling with mystery—
allows readers to practice grappling with life: with their own experiences, with
metaphysical questions, and with people, cultures, ideas, beliefs, and experiences that transcend their own.

Comments

Monteverde Plenary Address

Recommended Citation

Sission, Annette, "“The Roar on the Other Side of Silence”: Reading the Invisible Life Beyond the Page" (2021). Humanities Symposium. 5.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2021/2021/5