“I find inspiration and solace in the wise proverbs of my ancestors, the great and noble Bulgarians. Sadly, their wisdom does not translate well. Meant to benefit our people alone, this wisdom is bound to our Bulgarian language, inseparably. The moment you lift it out and plant it into another tongue, this wisdom takes the shape of folly. ‘A dog that rushes its business,’ teaches us one such proverb, ‘in the end gives birth to blind pups.’ Wiser words were rarely spoken. So be careful then, not to hurry your writing. When you’ve written something, rewrite it. Set it aside. Think about it, then about other things. Then rewrite what you’ve written and rethink what you’ve thought. When it comes to waiting, trust the ancient Bulgarians. Take your time. Don’t condemn your pups to blindness.”
—Miroslav Penkov, author of East of the West (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Photo credit: Boris Nikolaev
Comments
jefferydarling replied on Permalink
no blind pups
Even at 57, I can't find truer words. I think the more excited I get about getting a line or paragraph right, the more I try to hurry. I am getting a little better, but any advice would be appreciated.