Progress Report: Barfield and Tolkien: How do you DO that?!

"When a lady complained to Whistler that she did not see the world he painted, he is said to have replied: 'No, ma'am, but don't you wish you could?'"

Owen Barfield, Saving the Appearances

Whistler probably could have taught the lady to paint - that is, painters successfully teach others how to paint. What if Whistler could have taught the lady to see his world - if artists could teach others how to see their world?

What if Tolkien, or Barfield, could teach others to see what they saw?

Barfield actually did that - taught others how to do what he did. Tolkien is a different story.

But why compare Tolkien with Barfield, on this matter, except because of their loose association via the Inklings?

That also is a different story, one that I've been thinking long and hard on for months now. I've read a ton of great writing and thinking, most of which is new to me, including Simon Blaxland-de Lange biography of Barfield. His book is simply invaluable to understanding the breadth and depth of Barfield's work, apart from deep, wide reading and meditation on the source material, of course.

I'm re-reading the Barfield essential texts, and new ones: Night Operation, English People, his poetry. I'm re-reading Tolkien's letters, and reading out loud the Lord of the Rings to my sweetheart Dawn who's never read it.

It's an overwhelming bit of material, and the topic is intimidating. I've taken several breaks, too, days where I don't read, I don't run through questions in my mind, I don't review my memory of which source has a particular quote, and chasing all the hints and suggestions to their diverging and often distracting ends.

Writing Rule 1: You can't say everything at once.

That's a hard one for sure.