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"The Spell of the Sensuous" by David Abram

book review by Riley Burnham 10/3/2022

great book; surprisingly varied & eloquent

this one tackles the effects of writing from an animistic or naturalistic/spiritual perspective: how it took us from deeply connected, blended entities w/ nature & the air -- to something like separate beings [an illusion of course], w/ distinct worlds of "in me" & "out there"

this explores the symbolism of early Hebrew, w/ its omission of vowels, the author conjectures, as reverence to the unutterable spirit [consider the pronunciation of YHVH]

there were plenty of pleasant surprises around turns in this book; more than come to mind immediately

one of my favorites was a deep-dive into words/naming within a particular language [i forget which specifically], as the names SOUND like the noises they make, or as sensuous descriptors [a local mountain might be "red-topped mesa," or "the place with the tall jagged boulder;" & a cat might be something like "me-ow" or chicken "bk-bk" lol -- thus a bird's name sounds like its call]

he laments in conclusion what has been lost in our plight toward written-language [he says first more or less perfected by the Hebrews; then solidified w/ the Greeks (who added true vowels tho lost the symbolic meaning behind each letter, such as ox for alef [alpha])]