"In Fenton Johnson’s book At the Center of All Beauty, he suggests that the solitary is defined not by self-focus but by generosity. The solitary approaches the world as a repository for the gifts she has to give rather than a marketplace for her to pick through and consume for the sake of her own feeling of fullness. In her needs to be alone, to muse, to wander away in thought or along a mountain path, she seeks to discover the fresh potential of these gifts like an artist cleaning her paintbrush between sessions — thorough, careful, with gratitude for what came before, expectation for what will come, and peace right now, when the paint is yet to dry from today’s painting, and tomorrow’s is hardly a vision. . ."

More at https://collegevilleinstitute.org/bearings/a-generous-solitude/

Fenton Johnson’s At the Center of All Beauty is actually several books in one. It’s a memoir about living alone and learning to live alone. It’s an exploration of several famous figures who chose solitary lives but still contributed to society. It’s a literary exploration ranging from Emily Dickinson to Henry James. It’s a call to understand that biological offspring aren’t the only kind – that we can be impactful on the lives around us even if we don’t have children of our own. It’s also a sort of chapbook, containing moments of true poetry threaded through and glinting. Because it is all of these things, it may confound a traditional audience. However, those who love being alone, who read while stopping to think, and who love a legacy of writing and books will find much of worth here.