Words on Paper | Forrest Peterson

Aristotle and Plato: The Cave and the Light

by Forrest Peterson | Dec 4, 2024 | Words on Paper

While I like dogs very much, I sometimes find ‘dog-eared’ pages in books annoying. My copy of The Cave and the Light – Plato versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization, by Dr. Arthur Herman, has 22 bent page corners. Bending the...

Storytelling: Power of the narrative; Information is power

by Forrest Peterson | Nov 27, 2024 | Words on Paper

‘Controlling the narrative’. In these times of strident political discourse, we sometimes hear that phrase from pundits delivering news and commentary. Politicians and their strategists attempt to control the narrative. The stories they tell attempt to shape...

Getting creative about the Human Condition

by Forrest Peterson | Nov 20, 2024 | Words on Paper

Prologue: In his 1968 book, Creativity and Personal Freedom, Frank Barron lists characteristics and concerns of writers: A quest for ultimate meanings, Elected to and have accepted the office, Listen to the voice within and speak out, Concerned about social and...

Darkness at noon on the road to wisdom

by Forrest Peterson | Nov 15, 2024 | Words on Paper

Words on Paper: An author’s quest for meaning beyond Postmodernism. Finding Metamodernism in searching how literature reflects and influences society and exploring the Great Conversation about the human condition. Emerging into the Metamodern Era, we rediscover hope,...

Same old same old: Persistent topics, we’ve been here before

by Forrest Peterson | Nov 15, 2024 | Words on Paper

In view of recent events, I decided to reshuffle the order of these columns. This gives me an outlet for despair, while not losing focus on the basic idea of Words on Paper – important books and how they reflect and influence society. Today’s post would have been...

Literature expresses and influences society, the Great Conversation

by Forrest Peterson | Oct 29, 2024 | Words on Paper

Have you ever looked at old college papers, if you still have them? Research for this series found me digging out a paper from a European history class, about the 18th century philosopher and writer, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. As the “Words on Paper” series evolved, I...