Silk Parachute by John McPhee (July 2019)
I followed up my introduction to John McPhee’s writing in Draft No. 4 by picking out Silk Parachute, a collection of essays that confirmed how much I enjoyed his writing style. I’m not sure which of his works I’ll read next but I’m fairly certain that I’ll dig back into his writing relatively soon.
One note I made in my review of Draft No. 4 focused on structure. Here, McPhee briefly revisits the topic by pointing out that knowing the target audience is an important consideration for establishing the shape of the work. The only other note I took down related to the writing process compared photography to writing – much in the same way a print is sometimes the only way a photographer knows what the camera captured, a draft is the only way a writer knows what is in a piece.
Some know McPhee for his writing about sports and these readers may be pleased to learn that although this collection did not include any of his best-known work, he did include certain insights that apply to athletics. He points out in one section that the importance of practice is the way it helps us navigate dangerous situations – instead of worry, we keep our cool and focus on what to do next. On the other hand, there is a limit to practice, a fact he notes later on when he points out that most coaches can improve skills but have little influence over size or speed. For most people outside the context of sports, the challenge of improvement is a question of understanding what is within our control and focusing within those limits to keep our energies allocated to practice that improves these factors.
Finally, in the world of interesting facts, I learned in this book that the Iroquois have an international lacrosse team. The details were less interesting than the simple fact (although I was personally fascinated by how the World Lacross Championship setup its tournament, having never encountered such a competition format in my decades of studying the... er, artform). My bucket list isn’t very long (officially, it’s to be in the eye of a massive hurricane, which I suppose means it's the last item on the list, but that’s also the first item as of now) but I’m considering adding a trip to this tournament just to see the Iroquouis team play.
Footnotes / endnote / the fourth wall
0a. Clutch?
One last sports comment – in the ongoing debate of clutch play, McPhee points out that athletes who wonder whether they are clutch or not are probably not clutch.
0b. The fourth wall
I wonder sometimes if I misattribute certain comments or thoughts to writers in these reading reviews. It would never be intentional – it’s simply a result of my process (which is lazy in this regard) because when I take notes from books I rarely keep track of whether or not the comment comes directly from the author.
McPhee comments in Silk Parachute that objections to a fair comment can focus on how perceptions about the way people think or feel have been misrepresented. This idea made me feel a little better. I suppose objections about how I represent certain ideas in these reading reviews would be centered entirely around how I’ve failed to do the work necessary to hold off such objections, but I can rest easier knowing that at least the comment itself is fair.
