ULTRA-HARRIER TONY’S CHAIN LETTER · TO THE
SWARTHMORONS
Create the appearance of ironyCultivate a sense of obscurity
Chapter 16
Yes, the artistic writer must never be obvious,
2But subtle,
3And eloquent,
4jIn an ironic kind of way,
5With an air of native sadness,
6Which wells up from the depths of his inborn sensitivity,
7And from her appearance of profound yearning that the kway of things might be different from the way they so obviously are,
8As we can deduce from the extraordinary subtlety of his prose.
9But never ever come right out and say what you are thinking,
10Because this will result in one of two things,
11Both bad.
12The first thing which can happen is that people will disagree with your thinking,
13Either because your thinking is bad or because it doesn’t agree with theirs,
14aWhich is exactly the same thing.
15The second thing which can happen is that your straightforward approach will force you to think,
16Which is very very bad,
17Because thinking leads to all kinds of problems,
18Like doubt,
19And introspection,
20bAnd inevitably, despair.
21Therefore, remember that if you cultivate a sense of obscurity and abstruseness at all times,
22You will find it both easier to write,
23And easier to live.
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Chapter 16 / 38