I’m drawn to all things ‘liminal’ in life and in my writing so I really appreciated your deep dive here Yasmin. I like to think of it as a threshold and also like you mentioned, a state of mind or being, a transitional in between and yet not static place between gone from and not yet there. I’m just dipping my toes into place writing so very happy to have come across your Substack.
It's lovely to hear from you, Amanda. I've just read your piece (Tending the liminal flame of multiple truths) about living in the liminal space between two lands, two homes, two cultures.... it's beautiful. The Place Writing community is a welcoming space. I look forward to reading more of your writing.
I wrote about my dislike of the word ‘liminal’ a few years back, having heard writer Tim Dee gently chastise fellow writer Rob Cowen for using it: http://richardcarter.com/sidelines/2019-05-13/
Your analysis is more thoughtfully considered than mine. I just don’t like the word.
Other words overused by nature- and place-writers include: crepuscular, palimpsest, petrichor and sintering.
On a more prosaic note, I’m aware I overuse the word ‘stuff’.
English vocabulary is quite wonderful. I think we all have our favourite words. As writers, we need to be aware of over-use and correct use and I always have the dictionary open. Learning all the time. I only recently came across the word 'petrichor', and I'm hoping to find a place for it somewhere, sometime. Thanks for your words, Richard.
What happened around 1987 is that 'liminal' became a buzzword... And yes i've used it in my own writing, but only I'm afraid in a certain spirit of mockery. What I understand by it is places that are sort-of in between, on the threshold between somewhere and somewhere else, neither here nor there. So, places you go through rather than hanging around in, and which therefore are somewhat uncomfortable and disconcerting, especially if you find yourself for some reason required to linger. Hospital corridors. Bus stations, train stations, airports, especially in the middle of the night. Aeroplane interiors. Stairwells in department stores. Multi-storey car parks.
I'm afraid the 'liminal cranes' left me completely bewildered.
Hi Ronald. Thank you for your comments and I understand your 'spirit of mockery' in respect to the word 'liminal'; it has me questioning things every time I see it, or dare to use it. I like your list of possible places of liminality. Aeroplanes are an interesting one. I've been thinking of buses, possibly in a similar way, because you're on the move yet stationary... contained and yet connected to the outside world. Most vehicles probably fit into this category. It's an odd sort of state and one which I think humans were never meant to experience. Oh, and the cranes, by the way, made me think of the liminal world of the port, where cargo is in process of leaving and arriving, where things are not yet possessed, where people work in the in-between in a place that is neither departure nor arrival.
I use the concept of liminality quite a bit in my place writing. I feel it as (can't say that I SEE it) the power of spirit, the soul of a place which hangs in the ether around us, created by both place itself and its past inhabitants and events. I feel that it's something cosmic, a place in-between the here and now and the timeless dimension where the souls of people and places reside. I also believe that liminal spaces are alive, always gathering impressions of place and people and compiling those impressions into its overall soul. It's fascinating and mesmerizing to be able to connect this way to a place; it doesn't happen everywhere but when it does, it seems like a whole new world opens up to me - which, I believe, is exactly what place intends.
Hi Lynn. In your words you've conjured another aspect of liminality - not physical space as in doorways, but an atmospheric space that exists in the imagination. The emotional power that you encounter, which is stimulated in these places, just has to be written about. Thank you for your insightful comment.
Yasmin, I was introduced to your post and publication via Laura Pashby’s Note and am so pleased to have discovered your writing. I was introduced to the word/concept of the ‘liminal’ through my yoga practice and ideas around inhabiting/getting comfortable with the in-between. I found it especially useful when navigating the final days of pregnancy which coincided with those days between Christmas and New Year, in a new home. It all felt very ‘threshold-y’, in fact I think I wrote an Instagram post about the feeling featuring a picture of our new front door! Anyway, I do use the word a lot (possibly too much) so thank you for this thought-provoking post that will stay with me.
Lindsay, thank you for your comment - it reinforces the transferability of the word across different subject areas. I love the idea that it relates to yoga practice, this is something I had never considered. There are lots of 'threshold-y' experiences in life for sure.
Such an interesting piece Yasmin. I’ve been thinking a lot about liminal spaces and places in my own writing and you have given me much to think about.
Thank you for your kind words, Laura. I hope my musings are helpful. I'd love to know more about your interpretation of liminal space because I think, as writers, we can stretch it a bit. The important thing is to make sure that readers understand what we're getting at!
Hi Yasmin, beautiful writing as usual. If you haven't already visited my own Substack you might find it interesting - in fact I was put onto yours by someone who is subscribed to mine - The Edgelands. Be well :)
Thanks for your kind words, Sam. Taking a look at your Substack - I see our subjects of interest overlap. Tell me more about your plans for it. Will you be adding more to it this year? Or are you writing elsewhere?
I don't have solid plans for a new batch of pieces or a timeline, but I do have quite a few drafts in the back end waiting for a shape to take form. And time to become available to write them in. I am not currently writing elsewhere aside from a couple of things unrelated to Edgelands published in journals. Do you write elsewhere?
I've subscribed so I'll receive an email when you put out another post. :-)
I'm writing a book at the moment which I will finish this year. It's part of my PhD in creative non-fiction place writing. Next year I hope to find a publisher for it while I work on another book.
Liminal is a new word to me...but now, I'm intrigued - I think I shall cross a new threshold and enter into the world of liminal things (or at least my mind shall do that work)...
Hi Jack. Liminal was also new to me not so long ago! I'm finding it frequently used in Place Writing, and once seen never forgotten. I'm glad you enjoyed reading the post, and thank you for your comment.
I’m drawn to all things ‘liminal’ in life and in my writing so I really appreciated your deep dive here Yasmin. I like to think of it as a threshold and also like you mentioned, a state of mind or being, a transitional in between and yet not static place between gone from and not yet there. I’m just dipping my toes into place writing so very happy to have come across your Substack.
It's lovely to hear from you, Amanda. I've just read your piece (Tending the liminal flame of multiple truths) about living in the liminal space between two lands, two homes, two cultures.... it's beautiful. The Place Writing community is a welcoming space. I look forward to reading more of your writing.
Thanks Yasmin, I really appreciate that!
I wrote about my dislike of the word ‘liminal’ a few years back, having heard writer Tim Dee gently chastise fellow writer Rob Cowen for using it: http://richardcarter.com/sidelines/2019-05-13/
Your analysis is more thoughtfully considered than mine. I just don’t like the word.
Other words overused by nature- and place-writers include: crepuscular, palimpsest, petrichor and sintering.
On a more prosaic note, I’m aware I overuse the word ‘stuff’.
English vocabulary is quite wonderful. I think we all have our favourite words. As writers, we need to be aware of over-use and correct use and I always have the dictionary open. Learning all the time. I only recently came across the word 'petrichor', and I'm hoping to find a place for it somewhere, sometime. Thanks for your words, Richard.
What happened around 1987 is that 'liminal' became a buzzword... And yes i've used it in my own writing, but only I'm afraid in a certain spirit of mockery. What I understand by it is places that are sort-of in between, on the threshold between somewhere and somewhere else, neither here nor there. So, places you go through rather than hanging around in, and which therefore are somewhat uncomfortable and disconcerting, especially if you find yourself for some reason required to linger. Hospital corridors. Bus stations, train stations, airports, especially in the middle of the night. Aeroplane interiors. Stairwells in department stores. Multi-storey car parks.
I'm afraid the 'liminal cranes' left me completely bewildered.
Hi Ronald. Thank you for your comments and I understand your 'spirit of mockery' in respect to the word 'liminal'; it has me questioning things every time I see it, or dare to use it. I like your list of possible places of liminality. Aeroplanes are an interesting one. I've been thinking of buses, possibly in a similar way, because you're on the move yet stationary... contained and yet connected to the outside world. Most vehicles probably fit into this category. It's an odd sort of state and one which I think humans were never meant to experience. Oh, and the cranes, by the way, made me think of the liminal world of the port, where cargo is in process of leaving and arriving, where things are not yet possessed, where people work in the in-between in a place that is neither departure nor arrival.
I learned so much from your piece. Thank you Yasmin.
I'm so pleased, Sadia. And welcome! Thank you for subscribing to Place Writing.
Hi Yasmin
I use the concept of liminality quite a bit in my place writing. I feel it as (can't say that I SEE it) the power of spirit, the soul of a place which hangs in the ether around us, created by both place itself and its past inhabitants and events. I feel that it's something cosmic, a place in-between the here and now and the timeless dimension where the souls of people and places reside. I also believe that liminal spaces are alive, always gathering impressions of place and people and compiling those impressions into its overall soul. It's fascinating and mesmerizing to be able to connect this way to a place; it doesn't happen everywhere but when it does, it seems like a whole new world opens up to me - which, I believe, is exactly what place intends.
Hi Lynn. In your words you've conjured another aspect of liminality - not physical space as in doorways, but an atmospheric space that exists in the imagination. The emotional power that you encounter, which is stimulated in these places, just has to be written about. Thank you for your insightful comment.
Yasmin, I was introduced to your post and publication via Laura Pashby’s Note and am so pleased to have discovered your writing. I was introduced to the word/concept of the ‘liminal’ through my yoga practice and ideas around inhabiting/getting comfortable with the in-between. I found it especially useful when navigating the final days of pregnancy which coincided with those days between Christmas and New Year, in a new home. It all felt very ‘threshold-y’, in fact I think I wrote an Instagram post about the feeling featuring a picture of our new front door! Anyway, I do use the word a lot (possibly too much) so thank you for this thought-provoking post that will stay with me.
Lindsay, thank you for your comment - it reinforces the transferability of the word across different subject areas. I love the idea that it relates to yoga practice, this is something I had never considered. There are lots of 'threshold-y' experiences in life for sure.
Such an interesting piece Yasmin. I’ve been thinking a lot about liminal spaces and places in my own writing and you have given me much to think about.
Thank you for your kind words, Laura. I hope my musings are helpful. I'd love to know more about your interpretation of liminal space because I think, as writers, we can stretch it a bit. The important thing is to make sure that readers understand what we're getting at!
Hi Yasmin, beautiful writing as usual. If you haven't already visited my own Substack you might find it interesting - in fact I was put onto yours by someone who is subscribed to mine - The Edgelands. Be well :)
Thanks for your kind words, Sam. Taking a look at your Substack - I see our subjects of interest overlap. Tell me more about your plans for it. Will you be adding more to it this year? Or are you writing elsewhere?
I don't have solid plans for a new batch of pieces or a timeline, but I do have quite a few drafts in the back end waiting for a shape to take form. And time to become available to write them in. I am not currently writing elsewhere aside from a couple of things unrelated to Edgelands published in journals. Do you write elsewhere?
I've subscribed so I'll receive an email when you put out another post. :-)
I'm writing a book at the moment which I will finish this year. It's part of my PhD in creative non-fiction place writing. Next year I hope to find a publisher for it while I work on another book.
Oh good luck! That sounds amazing and I'll certainly read it
Liminal is a new word to me...but now, I'm intrigued - I think I shall cross a new threshold and enter into the world of liminal things (or at least my mind shall do that work)...
Nice piece - I enjoyed reading it...
Hi Jack. Liminal was also new to me not so long ago! I'm finding it frequently used in Place Writing, and once seen never forgotten. I'm glad you enjoyed reading the post, and thank you for your comment.