# Art is conversation Something I learned from poetry is that pieces can be in conversation with one another. All great art is the product of intertextuality.[^1] Or, in other words, everything is a remix.[^2] Making art is a way of expressing oneself and reaching out. Sharing it is a collaboration. I may be the one speaking, but the listener is making sense of what I'm saying. Wolfgang Iser says a literary work has two poles: the artistic and the aesthetic, with the former being accomplished by the author and the latter accomplished by the reader.[^4] ![[To read is to translate —W. H. Auden]] ![[Leave them something to imagine —Laurence Stern]] ![[A beholder must create their own experience]] Margaret Atwood likens the reception of art to performing a music score. ![[The reader is the musician of each book —Margaret Atwood]] James Hannaham says similarly. ![[When you write pretty much anything, you're essentially asking someone to read a musical score]] Adia Victoria says dialogue is an art. Put yourself on a stage when you speak to another person, and let yourself be seen. Work to create spaces where others can be put on stage and be seen too. [[Have a conversation]]. "Call out for your people, and listen for the response."[^3] [^1]: [Kill Your Darlings - Gabriel Kahane: Words & Music](https://gabrielkahane.substack.com/p/kill-your-darlings?utm_source=pocket_mylist) [^2]: [Watch — Everything is a Remix](https://www.everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series) [^3]: [Brandi Carlile: Multiple Selves (One Story)](https://call-response.simplecast.com/episodes/brandi-carlile-multiple-selves-one-story-pBb8T6sc) [^4]: [[The Reading Process—A Phenomenological Approach]]