there’s something about Lawrence

D.H. that is…

Yesterday I picked up a new biography of D.H. Lawrence at the library and decided to have a Lawrence fest, so I also checked out a book with four of his short novels, the first of which is called “Love Among the Haystacks.” What makes his writing so sensual?

In the case of this story, it’s because he writes in a way to describe the sights, sounds, tastes, aromas, and textures of a south facing hill with two fields where people are cutting and stacking hay in the summer sunshine. He describes faces. He even recreates the Nottingham England Midlands accent which reminded me of getting used to reading Huck Finn’s voice, or the voices in Zora Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” I found myself reading out loud to get it. He got me.

I can clearly picture the faces of Paula and Maurice. The smell of hay poured out of the pages. The summer heat came like a mirage off the paper. I could almost taste the rabbit pie and smell the tobacco lit after lunch in the shade. And when Paula fell into the nettles, I could feel the sting. Lawrence does that.

This story painted a few vivid pictures for me. Lawrence attends to the senses and that’s why I think his writing is so sensual.