Speech, writing, Laura Riding


Author: Terence Rajivan Edward
Abstract. A poem by Laura Riding provides a counterexample to Jacques Derrida's claim that speech has been privileged over writing..
Draft version: Version 2 (25th April 2023, "in" removed; 20 July 2026 bibliography updated)


        Is it a faux pas to quote the same material again and again? Well, there are worse things. This is Sarah Richmond explaining Jacques Derrida:
"According to Derrida, Western thought, from at least Plato onwards, has repeatedly propagated a false hierarchy, placing speech above writing. Philosophers have regarded writing with suspicion, as a dangerous repository of thought, in which the speaker's intentions are likely to be betrayed." (1996: 39)
But what are the boundaries of Western thought, or the Western philosophical tradition? Such questions arise with the counterexample I shall provide.


        Consider this poem by American modernist poet Laura Riding, entitled "In Due Form":


I do not doubt you.
I know you love me.
It is a fact of your indoor face,
A true fancy of your muscularity.
Your step is confident.
Your look is thorough.
Your stay-beside-me is a pillow
To roll over on
And sleep as on my own upon.


But make me a statement
In due form on endless foolscap
Witnessed before a notary
And sent by post, registered,
To be signed for on receipt
And opened under oath to believe;
An antique paper missing from my strong-box.
A bond to clutch when hail tortures the chimney
And lightning circles redder round the city,
And your brisk step and thorough look
Are gallant but uncircumstantial,
And not mentionable in a doom-book.


Poem over. The sentiments are not so usual, I think. The lover desires a written confirmation of love, finding more value in that than other expressions of it. The written statement has higher observability and permanence, or it did then. The unusualness is that she denies the request for such a statement is because she doubts.


References
Richmond, Sarah. 1996. Derrida and Analytical Philosophy: Speech Acts and their Force. European Journal of Philosophy 4 (1): 38-62.
Riding, Laura. 1938 (date of publication in Collected Poems; probably published in an earlier collection). In Due Form. Available at:
https://lauraridingjackson.org/in-due-form/
And:
https://www.best-poems.net/laura_riding/in_due_form.html
And:
https://internetpoem.com/best-poem/laura-riding-jackson/in-due-form-poem
And:
https://www.poemist.com/laura-riding/in-due-form#google_vignette
And:
https://mypoeticside.com/show-classic-poem-23209
And:
https://poetandpoem.com/Laura-Riding/In-Due-Form
And:
https://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/in_due_form_4735
And:
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/laura_riding_jackson/poems/18727
And:
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-due-form/
And (this document was originally made by me!):
https://www.scribd.com/document/379245611/13-Poems
And (a version of this paper):
https://www.academia.edu/100744509/Speech_writing_Laura_Riding
And (a version of this paper):
https://website2.net/searlederrida_riding.txt