I will not self-edit… not for anyone or anything.
If my words displease you, its not my burden to carry but your own.
In some respects, at least I managed to bring up some kind of emotive response.
Perusing my pages, looking for signs and omens of what has been or will be.
Clues perceived between the lines is your own hypothesis.
What is conveyed and understood is your own perception.
That is what expression is and its my unapologetic art form.
T. Altman 2016
One of the first female poets I came across as a teen whom I connected with deeply was Maya Angelou. Her words spoke to me then and they speak to me now….
Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
by Maya Angelou
Its taken a while but I have learned to separate the art from the artist. When it comes to artist’s work – its not about you and your perceptions of the creator but the work itself.
I used to project all my expectations on artists due to how I perceived them through their work, which ultimately they didn’t live up to because humans are fallible and not perfect (same goes for the rest of us).
I’m making this in reference to some of my favourite writers whose life choices, behaviours and personal feelings I do not agree with yet their artistry speaks to me.
For eg. Lord Byron, a chronicled misogynist whose poems touch me, yet as a feminist his behaviour and comments towards women…not so much!
So next time you judge someone’s work because of their character – step back and separate yourself from it. View it from a completely neutral perspective and who knows? You might like it!
Was chatting to a friend about poetry and novels and our love for them recently. During our conversation, she gave me one of the best compliments I have received in a long while….
“When I talk with you about writing or read your posts about writing, you remind me of Jo March from Little Women – Genius Burns. Strong fierce beyond talented and stubborn – but always a lady.”
Thanks Apryl…you have no idea how much these words mean to me 😀
Was discussing poetry and other forms of artistic expression with one of my younger friends who “gets it” and during this to and fro, introduced her to one of my favorites which she’d never heard of before and I shared why I loved her and what called to me. During the conversation I brought up how she took her own life like a few of my other favorite writers and realized most of my favorite artists have suffered from the big black dog.
For those of you who are artists of any kind – take hope there is more of us than you realize and even though you feel alone, you’re not. Dont give up! Using art to express what you are going through is beneficial not for your own sanity but for those who drink from the water-bowl of the big black dog.
I came across this list on famous artists who struggled with the black dog’s barking and its a pretty good one. I do however feel they should of included some of my other favorites like Dylan Thomas, Anne Sexton, Tennessee Williams, Virginia Woolf and Emily Dickinson.
This surrealist’s art has always made me wonder at the “characters” within his art. They speak to me of places I’m too wary to travel to, whilst giving me insight into the complex nature of his perception of life.
This is my favourite Dali piece which is titled “Woman Aflame” .
It helps me momentary escape and explore infinite possibilities as a woman as I compartmentalize my responsibilities and dreams…I might be held up to society’s standards but that is just a crutch which I use to propel myself forward.
The first book I recall from my earliest memories as a child, is learning to read using Aesop’s Fables. I loved the simple story telling full of allegory and re-read them over and over again. Filled with moral and ethical lessons I feel this is the book which shaped me the most.
I truly believe that whatever you write will have an affect on others so this quote rings true with me…
“the only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life or better to endure it.” Dr Samuel Johnson
The only way to write regularly is to make it a habit.
The only way to make it a habit, is to set yourself a daily goal.
Set yourself a target of several hundred words a day and build from there.
It doesn’t matter what you write – as long as you do it everyday!
Make sure you always have your writing tools on hand whether it be a pen and notebook, smartphone or ipad/laptop/desktop.
Most importantly I suggest you pick a time of the day you prefer and schedule it into your diary.
I’ve set myself a target of 500-1000 words a day and I have been following through with it….granted my subject tends to jump from fiction to non-fiction but I am still writing every day and that was my goal 🙂
tinaaltman.com 