For me, to write is an act of rebellion, an uprising against that part of me that needs to be responsible, helpful, adaptive. It is one of the first things, maybe the very first thing, that is entirely my own, that doesn’t help anyone, doesn’t make anyone else’s life easier, doesn’t facilitate or provide structure or administrative support for anyone else.
p. 78, Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines
I'll be posting some more quotes from Shauna's two books in the near future, as well as an interview-ish post from when I got to talk to her a month or so ago.
This quote is from the chapter when she talks about her writing process and how she began to write. I think all writers feel this, the sense of rebelling against the ways of the world when we sit down to write. Maybe all artists do, because by working our art, we are saying that art and beauty are worth something, even though they do not feed the body or the bank account. It's frivolous, unnecessary, pointless even. But it is everything to us who breathe on paper. And hopefully it means something to the one whose eyes scan the words, making pictures of them in her mind. That is why the guilt should be banished to make room for more imagination and creativity. We must do art to feed our souls. That is what it comes down to.
Brief update: working on a few pieces for publishing later. I literally have about four essays started and a few more ideas floating around in this silly head of mine. Now, to finish. Stay tuned, more to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment