Topical Guide 614
Mark Dorset
Self-Presentation (or Presentation of the Self): The Compulsion to Express Oneself, the Difficulty of Doing So, Especially Under Conditions of Repression or Suppression, and the Rush of Release When Self-Expression Is Achieved
Where Do You Stop? Chapter 20:
Suddenly something like a verbal explosion occurred. I think that what I had to say had built to such a level within me that it couldn’t be contained, there could be no more hemming, no more hawing, no more beating around the bush. It wanted out, and out it came, in a rushing burst: . . .
John Lee Hooker, “Boogie Chillun”:
Let that boy boogie-woogie. It’s in him. It’s got to come out.
Sheldon Frank, “As I Was Saying”:
What I’m tryin’ to say,
What I’m tryin’ to say,
What I’m tryin’ to say,
I say what I’m tryin’ to say, […]
[The complete text follows these readings by the Theatre of Voices and Jaap Blonk.]
As I Was Saying
Well I sez to him I sez,
I sez,
Well I sez to him I sez,
I sez,
Well I sez to him I sez,
I sez,
Well I sez to him, I sez, well,
Well I sez to him, I sez, well,
Well I sez to him, I sez, well,
Well, I sez,
What I’m tryin’ to say,
What I’m tryin’ to say,
What I’m tryin’ to say,
I say what I’m tryin’ to say,
What I’m tryin’ to say,
What I’m tryin’ to say,
I say well,
Well, I say, well,
I say, well,
Well, I say,
I say, well,
I say, well,
I say, what I’m tryin’ to say,
I say, what I’m tryin’ to say,
I say, what I’m tryin’ to say,
I say, what I’m tryin’ to say,
I say, what I’m tryin’ to say,
I say, what I’m tryin’ to say, I say well,
Well, I say, well,
Well, what I mean to say,
What I mean to say,
What I mean to say, I say,
What I mean to say, I say,
I mean, you know,
I mean, you know,
I mean, you know that’s what I said,
I said that’s what I meant, that’s what I said, that’s what I meant, that’s what I said, that’s what I said, well,
Well, that’s what I said well,
Well that’s what I tried to say,
Well, that’s what I tried to say well.
See also:
Self-Presentation (or Presentation of the Self) TG 427, TG 508; Voice of Reason, Man of Action, Madman, the Engagé and the Dégagé TG 430; Altruist TG 443; Devil-May-Care Bon-Vivants, Self-Denying Elder, and Outspoken Rebel TG 446; Self-Sacrifice versus Self-Indulgence TG 522; Self-Congratulation TG 522; Self: Re-invention or Renovation TG 529
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