The Unending Conversation
The first time I encountered Kenneth Burke’s concept of the Unending Conversation was in 1997. It was my first semester of graduate school in a class called, Modern Rhetorical Theory.1
I’ve carried the ideal that life is an unending conversation ever since. It’s a central precept of my teaching, my writing, my way of seeing the world. The good thing is, I’m surrounded by people who do likewise.
Earth School
This video is from an upcoming episode of Conversation from the Crossroads with Richard M Josey, my pal and fellow maker of good trouble. He hipped me to his term, Earth School—the idea that a life well-lived means continuing to learn, to grow.
People get it instantly when I use the term Earth School. It’s not something I have to explain. I offer it to you as a way to think about the kind of ancestor you want to be.
Music is the ultimate unending conversation
This is very much true for the Allman Brothers and extended family of bands/musicians. The core of this publication is in my subhead: Conversation from the Crossroads of Southern music, history, and culture. Long Live the ABB is the lens I use to explore those ideas.
Here’s one example of that in action, my comments on a Karl Paulnack’s truly magical “2003 Address to the Parents of the Freshman Class”—Why Music Matters: The Unending Conversation.
Why Music Matters
I thought about the ABB’s musical conversation as I read a piece a reader sent my way: Karl Paulnack’s “2003 Address to the Parents of the Freshman Class.” This piece moved me, and I suspect it’ll move you as well.
It was his speech to parents of new freshmen at the Boston Conservatory on August 28, 2003. I learned of the unending conversation my first semester of graduate school. It was a way to conceive of life in the humanities: we are part of a conversation that began well before we got here and will continue well after we’re gone.
🍄Play All Night! Duane Allman & the Journey to Fillmore East🍄
🍄 MUSHROOM🍄 MAGICIANS 🍄 Steve Marshall, Brent W. Hammond, Ken Lupson, Laura McCarty
🍑 PEACH🍑 PALS🍑 Allen Barnes, Baileys Mike, sswoger, Bob Johnson, Bruce Miles, Buddy Lewis, Caroline Doolittle, Chuck Zumwalt, Clifford Morse, Craig Stephens, Dennis Newton, Denny, Ed Ashton, Ed Pokorny, F. D., Frank Young, Gary Wonwayout, Gary Williamson, George Holman, James Reynolds, James Yerrill, JD Guitar, Jeff Kushmerek, Jeff Schein, Jerry K, JoaquinDinero, Joe, Joe Sokohl, Joel Berger, Joel Tanzer, John Dolan, John Haughey, Jordan David, Joseph Lilly, Kenton Lee, Kevin Walker, Kurt Nielsen, Long Live the ABB, Mark Leitner, Martha Haynes, Peter Poulos, Phillip Page, Preston Root, Randy Woodall, Ray Tillman, Robert Porter, Rose Brandt, Surrender Cobra, Taylor Kropp, Tim Langan (Hot ‘Lanta Tim), Tina Christopher, Tom Pragliola, Tony Gioia, Wade McCurdy, Bob and Laura, Gary Smith, Wiszowa, Cwktwo, Hlnbkt, Cabinetsales, Art Dobie, Stanleyglennie8, Danbookin
Thanks for joining me on the journey.
Until next time…
I didn’t know what rhetorical theory meant, much less any understanding of ancient vs. modern versions of it. Here’s more on Burke’s Unending Conversation: https://kairos.technorhetoric.net/2.1/features/brent/burke.htm.
