If you're reading this blog, I'd love for you to do this too. It'll give me a good idea of what other people are reading, and what the randomness of the universe wants to bring to our attention.
Since this blog is ostensibly about writing, I'll choose my first book from the scads of writing books I own.
Here goes: A Life in the Arts (by Eric Maisel, Tarcher Putnam 1992)
Artists consider themselves to be independent people. But the artist's independent, rebellious, nonconforming nature, coupled with his introspective habits of mind, also make him wary of social interactions.... the artist, keenly aware that his journey is a personal and independent one, often fears that contact with his peers will slow him down, detour him, contain him, limit him, or unduly influence him.
Hmm... sounds like I need to stay in my ivory tower, rather than keep blogging with you people.
Are you a nonconformist, "wary of social interactions?" Or do you think contact with peers is actually the sort of detour that does an artist's body good?
oooh a parlour game...or what we Yanks call a parlor game, lol! I'm in! First, in answer to your question, it is tempting to be wary of social interactions, as people are distracting. Lovable, but damn hard to get any work done:) Without a wealth of social interactions, how is an artist to develop a voice? A voice cannot develop in a vacuum. Granted humans can be pesky diversions, but a lack of interaction strips a writer of an emotional history necessary for believability.
ReplyDeleteNow, for what I am reading:
Just Kids, by Patti Smith
"The sixties were coming to an end. Robert and I celebrated our birthdays. Robert turned twenty-three. Then I turned twenty-three. The perfect prime number. Robert made me a tie rack with the image of the Virgin Mary. I gave him seven silver skulls on a length of leather. He wore the skulls. I wore a tie. We felt ready for the seventies."
Oh to be 23 again! I look forward to your next spin around the study...
I heard Patti Smith being interviewed on NPR a while back. Had no idea she was Mapplethorpe's muse. Sounds like a great book. Let me know (on Goodreads!) what you think.
ReplyDeleteYes, to be 23 again...!