The Three Honesties
Much writing presents itself as certainty. Essayistic writing often begins elsewhere: with an acknowledgement of uncertainty, position, and limitation.
Increasingly, I find myself returning to three forms of honesty.
First Honesty: Stance Every inquiry begins somewhere. The first honesty is not objectivity but position. It is the willingness to say:
This is where I stand.
A stance is not a conclusion. It is a point of departure. We see from somewhere, not from nowhere. The essayist who acknowledges a position is often more trustworthy than the writer who claims to possess none. The question is not whether we have a standpoint, but whether we are prepared to reveal it.
Second Honesty: Attention The second honesty concerns what we attend to.
Different inquiries notice different things. Some focus on individuals, others on ideas, events, places, or relationships. The character of a piece of writing is shaped less by its conclusions than by the quality of its attention. What we choose to notice, and what we choose to ignore, are rarely neutral acts.
Essayistic writing makes its attention visible. It allows the reader to see not merely what has been found, but what has been followed.
Third Honesty: Invitation The third honesty is an invitation. The writer does not simply present a finding but invites the reader into an investigation. More importantly, the invitation is genuine only if the writer remains open to influence in return. An inquiry that cannot be altered by encounter is no longer an inquiry.
The essayistic impulse contains a tacit admission:
I may discover that I am wrong. I may discover that I have overlooked something. I may discover something neither of us expected.
This openness is not weakness. It is the condition that makes discovery possible.
Together... These three honesties do not define essayism, nor are they exclusive to essayists. They are simply qualities I increasingly recognise in writing that seeks understanding rather than certainty: honesty about stance, honesty about attention, and honesty as invitation.
The first says: this is where I stand. The second says: this is what I attend to. The third says: come and look with me; both of us may see something new.
Or as I have often said:
This is where I stand. This is what I can see from here. Come and look with me
David Marshall
Skerries