"AT FIRST THERE WAS NOTHING..." (Soundtrack)

GO DOWN, MOSES

CREATIVE WRITING

"At First there was Nothing"

The following pieces of creative writing have been prompted by the beginning of Faulkner's short story "The Old People" in Go Down, Moses At first there was nothing, and the primeval sense of unspoilt wilderness upon which the hub of the novel scaffolds

“At first , there was nothing. Just the old man and the dog. As it had been of late, he sat down on a Gumtree log and stroked his dog lovingly. Behind them , the wooden hunting cabin still stood erect, in brooding silence. Above, swirling dark clouds hid the starless November sky. Suddenly, his dog howled at the sound of swishing fallen leaves and the rhythmic swinging of the treetops in the cold Autumn gale.Old Ike strained his eyes and glimpsed a pair of scintillating lights by the timeless bridle path. Fearless, agog, he trudged towards the eternal Wilderness , then vanished.” by Begoña Rodríguez Varela

“Buttermere Lake with part of Cromackwater,Cumberland. A shower.”by Willliam Turner

At first there was nothing, so it is of nothingness that Chipotikhawa is made. Chipotikhawa, the fallen spirit of matter, lies always in wait. He enters my fridge and my safe, uncorks my bottles of wine, pickpockets my wallet, gulps my finest black ale, He spoils the heart of my wife. My life he has robbed of its sense. My bottom buck I do bet it’s Chipotikhawa himself who takes the floor in the Congress, sits the chair in the press, turns the pages I read, finds the words that I say… Goddamn, Moses! Haven’t you guessed yet? I was just trying to say Chipotikhawa. By Marcial Muñoz

At first there was nothing ..but the earth was hiding all, when Sam was not a man but a spirit, Ben was not a man but a bear and a dog was a Lion, when a drop of blood in our childish face was just the beginning and the woods watched our pathway while we realized that we are shaped by our facts and not by our kinship and we will be what will remain after us and that our race was a blessing burden inherited from those old people who began to learn how much they did not know. By Cándido Pintos

At first there was nothing or maybe there was, I don´t remember. I only remember parts of the way, which over the years come back to me: Fears, enchantment, words of comfort, loves, experiences... At first there was nothing, or maybe there was, I don´t remember. All the past lives, wars, famines, diseases, sufferings...But also all that love, the creation of new lives, new families, searching for a meaning to life, a meaning for what we are living. At first there was nothing, or maybe there was, I don´t remember. One song, a lullaby sung by a mother to her baby to console it with all her love and alleviate all the suffering on earth. By Servando Barreiro.

At first there was nothing more than wilderness, nature, animals and human beings living in harmony. No differences between them, no hierarchy, no masters, no slaves, only the presence of nature without owners. At first there was nothing but innocence, love, freedom, abundance, and time. No hate, no prisons, no scarcity, no wars, no jealousy, no greediness. At first there was nothing but human beings and animals and plants. No races, no skin colours, no money, no plantations, no ownership of land. At first, nature and human beings had the same roots, purpose, and owner. At first there was a paradise. By Mila Prol

Paradise by Bruegel

Transition towards Hemingway

Faulkner said of Hemingway's style: "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to a dictionary." To which Hemingway answered: "Poor Faulkner, Does he think that big emotions come from Big words?

Style as Morality: Faulkner, Hemingway, Amis, Provost.