tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post6523603925912337292..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: Angels and Demons, Strengths and WeaknessesAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-46610285799269304772015-10-07T20:35:27.863-04:002015-10-07T20:35:27.863-04:00The part about the beauty in a thing that looks li...The part about the beauty in a thing that looks like a flaw makes me think of a Japanese form of art (i should have looked up the name before writing this!) where things like broken pottery are mended with valuable materials like gold to highlight their intrinsic beauty and the way time and experience have enhanced it. Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-67049878765472518902015-10-07T16:52:38.527-04:002015-10-07T16:52:38.527-04:00Thank you, Jean. Me, too!Thank you, Jean. Me, too!Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-30529614786843455832015-10-07T16:52:29.495-04:002015-10-07T16:52:29.495-04:00Yes... I'm one of those people, too often. Sti...Yes... I'm one of those people, too often. Still working on that!Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-22400103327857845672015-10-07T16:52:12.470-04:002015-10-07T16:52:12.470-04:00I agree that the "tortured artist" idea ...I agree that the "tortured artist" idea has lots of problems. I think writing ultimately comes down to skill, which you have lots of, Lisabet. <br /><br />I do comfort myself sometimes by thinking I've gained wisdom from struggling, and I hope that comes through in my writing. But everyone has struggled, I think. Everyone understands grief and confusion and all the rest of it. We haven't experienced the same things, but that's part of what makes writing interesting.Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-21134937955718450352015-09-26T01:45:21.233-04:002015-09-26T01:45:21.233-04:00This is beautifully written, as usual, Annabeth. I...This is beautifully written, as usual, Annabeth. I hope you continue to feel love and compassion for your whole person.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-64327247413736285162015-09-24T13:13:23.732-04:002015-09-24T13:13:23.732-04:00So often I see otherwise sensitive, creative peopl...So often I see otherwise sensitive, creative people wasting their lives trying to please everyone but themselves. Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-58757713772670448882015-09-24T10:42:39.834-04:002015-09-24T10:42:39.834-04:00(And apologies also to Lisabet! It's not direc...(And apologies also to Lisabet! It's not directed at you, either, but at this "proverbial wisdom" that I've had a real problem with for a very long time.)Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-64315313467415000402015-09-24T10:40:57.374-04:002015-09-24T10:40:57.374-04:00Personally, I look sharply askance at the proverbi...Personally, I look sharply askance at the proverbial wisdom which holds that a good artist is necessarily a "tortured" artist. The whole essence of art, as I see it, is that the artist evokes his or her desired effect out of various kinds of talent and skill. Artists draw on all sorts of things, of course, not least personal experience, personal concerns, and personal struggles... but ultimately it's about artistry, in my view, whatever the raw materials might be for a given artist. <br /><br />I think some of my own work has plenty of emotional impact; and I am a very happy person. True, the emotions in my work are also on the happy side—but this is an artistic choice. <br /><br />And I'll go so far as to say that the "tortured artist" model—though of course examples are plentiful—is, insofar as it's taken as a general rule rather than merely a particular paradigm, a dangerous myth. The idea that <i>only</i> very troubled souls can produce good art is an insult to artists, an incentive for poseurs, and an explanation for the abundance (imho) of disturbing but not particularly inspired music, art, and literature all around us. The idea that "it's disturbed, so it must be good"—and, especially for someone like me, the corollary that "it's upbeat, so it must be worthless" have gone a long way to distort our culture, I think.<br /><br />(Apologies for the rant, which is not in any way directed at Annabeth's post—which I found breathtakingly wise and eloquent.)Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-84801690461558654312015-09-24T09:30:53.258-04:002015-09-24T09:30:53.258-04:00There's tremendous insight here, Annabeth.
S...There's tremendous insight here, Annabeth. <br /><br />Sometimes I feel as though I can't be much of a writer, because I seem to have so few demons. I'm not tormented by guilt or anger or even lust. I'm comfortable with sexuality and my sexual history. I have a stable, happy marriage. I'm shallow and boring, or so I feel. <br /><br />My stories are well-crafted, enjoyable, entertaining, but they don't have the emotional impact of yours, or Garce's (just to pick two of my favorite writers). That could be lack of skill or imagination...but sometimes I think it's a lack of demons.<br />Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.com