Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie

"Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true."

— Salman Rushdie

Indian Novelist

1947 -

One of the things that makes us humans special is our ability to learn and understand verbal language.  We name things.  That is what writers do.  That takes courage.  We conceive a thought, write it down and share it with others.  And this also makes writing different than painting.

Eric Fischl

Eric Fischl, an American artist, says it this way:  "The difference between painting and other forms of creativity like writing or filmmaking is that painting is a preverbal experience."  The language of painting is the language of the eyes.  We communicate by seeing.  The language of the  spoken word is the language of the ears.  We understand by hearing.  Language was first spoken before it was written.  It takes courage to speak and to hear what is  spoken.

The ability to conceive a thought and then speak it is an amazing gift.  If you ever become depressed because you feel you don't have talent, stop and think about the many gifts you have been given — the ability to think, the ability to comprehend language, the ability to speak words and the ability to write and read.  Consciousness itself is an amazing gift.  If you don't think of it as a gift, imagine being dead and having no consciousness.

Painting by Eric Fischl

And because we can speak words, we are able to imagine that which is not.  We are able to conceive ideas and worlds that do not exist.  We are not limited to the world that we see, hear,  taste, smell and touch.  And writers have the power to help us see worlds that only exist in our minds.  Imagination is an amazing gift.  Celebrate your imagination.  Celebrate your ability to speak.  

Here is Salman Rushdie discussing his creative process.

Isabel Bishop

"I hope my work is recognizable as being by a woman, though I certainly would never deliberately make it feminine in any way, in subject or treatment.  But if I speak in a voice which is my own, it's bound to be the voice of a woman."

Isabel Bishop

American Artist

1902 - 1988

Let's discuss the gender issue.  Can you look at a painting and tell whether it was painted by a male or female?  Can you read a poem or story and tell if a man or woman wrote it?  Can a male writer create female characters who are authentic?  Can a female writer create characters who are truly male?

14th Street
(1930)

I ask these questions because I believe, contrary to current popular opinion, that men and women have more similarities than they have differences.  Our desires, dreams and hopes are very much alike.  What do you think?  Does gender influence your art?  Your stories?  Your poems?

Isabel Bishop made the above statement when she was 76.  Four years later, she said: "I didn't want to be a woman artist, I just wanted to be an artist."  Do you want to be known as an artist or as a male or female artist?  Or are you an artist who happens to be female?

Here is a link to a narrative poem that I wrote in the voice of a Mexican woman: No One Sees Me.

http://web.mac.com/hgking/HarleyKing/No_One_Sees_Me.html

Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton
Photo by Elsa Dorfman

"I'm an artist at heart and I've found my own form, which I think is poetry."

— Anne Sexton

American Poet

1928 - 1974

Human beings, by nature, have a need and desire to create.  For some, this desire is crushed and destroyed in school.  For others, they quit because they feel they don't have any talent.  Anne Sexton once wrote: "I tried painting, but I wasn't good."  But she continued to paint in private.  She described her poems like paintings:  "I like to capture an instant.  A picture is a one-second thing — it's a fragile moment in time.  I try to do it with words."


Have you discovered your medium of expression?  What type of artist do you desire to be?  Are you an artist at heart?  


Here is a poem Anne Sexton wrote in response to Vincent Van Gogh's painting, Starry Night.



The Starry Night
By Anne Sexton

"That does not keep me from having a terrible need of—shall I say the word—religion. Then I go out at night to paint the stars." Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to his brother

The town does not exist

except where one black-haired tree slips

up like a drowned woman into the hot sky.

The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars.   

Oh starry starry night! This is how

I want to die.

It moves. They are all alive.

Even the moon bulges in its orange irons   

to push children, like a god, from its eye.

The old unseen serpent swallows up the stars.   

Oh starry starry night! This is how   

I want to die:

into that rushing beast of the night,   

sucked up by that great dragon, to split   

from my life with no flag,

no belly,

no cry.

Starry Night
by Vincent Van Gogh

Here is Don Mclean singing Vincent.  Enjoy.

Langston Hughes

"An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose."

— Langston Hughes

American Poet/Novelist

1902 - 1967

It takes courage to be an artist.  You must be able to do what others are not willing to do.  You must be able to create what you are afraid of creating.  If you let fear of rejection influence what you create, you will not be able to produce the art that you want and need to create.  

Artists need to be free from the criticism of society.  Critics often get it wrong.  Don't let the negativity of others hold you back.  Create what your heart tells you to create.  Believe in the choices you make.  If you listen to yourself, you will find your way through the maze of criticism and come out with your spirit whole and free.

Are you feeling courageous?  Are you creating the art that you want to create?  Are you ignoring the criticism of both your friends and your enemies?  Are you creating from the heart?  The choice is yours. 

James Michener

"When I am through writing a book, I turn to music or painting.  I also look at postcards of great works of art, which I have collected since I was a boy.  I leaf through them at least once a week."

— James Michener

American Novelist

1907 - 1997

For James Michener, all the arts were important.  He funded an art museum in Doylestown, PA, called the James A. Michener Art Museum.  He once said, "I have tried all the arts because I think one should respond to the art of his time and should be aware of what good people are doing."  

Do you expose yourself to the other types of art or do you limit yourself to your own speciality?  If you are a painter, do you only study painting?  Or do you read the novelists and the poets?  Do you attend theater and listen to storytellers?  If you are a novelist, do you study painting, sculpture and dance?  I call it cross-fertilization.  Exposure to other forms of art opens up new worlds and expands your imagination.

Michener also wrote: "One of the reasons why I have had good luck in writing is that I have always visualized my characters in the style of this painting and have kept them in my mind that way for a year or two before describing them in practical terms.  Thus one senses the weight and movement of a character and comes to know what that character is worth in the balance of the story."

Natalie Goldberg

"The only failure in writing is when you stop doing it.  Then you fail yourself. "

— Natalie Goldberg

American Writer

1947 - 

Too often people quit writing, painting or acting because they think they are no good.  The only failure is giving up.  Even though your book has not been published you should not give up.  Even though no one has bought your paintings does not mean you should quit.  Even though no Hollywood agent wants to put you under contract, you should keep acting.  Don't give up on yourself.

Here is Natalie.

Henri Matisse

"Every day that dawns is a gift to me and I take it that way.  I accept it gratefully without looking beyond it . . . . I think only of the joy of seeing the sun rise once more and of being able to work a little bit, even under difficult conditions."

— Henri Matisse

French Artist

1869 - 1954

Each day we live is a gift that we often forget to be thankful for.  We become so busy with the hundreds of tasks that we have to do that we lose sight of the fact that life is a blessing.  Matisse wrote these words after a second operation from which he did not expect to wake.  Even though he was physically in pain, he found joy in being able to paint.  Each day is a gift.  Are you living it to the fullest?  Are you grateful for the life you have?  Does your creative work bring you joy?

La Musique

Maya Angelou

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."

— Maya Angelou

American Author

1928 - 

How do you define success?  Many people define success as wealth and fame, but these are illusionary and short-lived.  Just think of the stories you have read of rich people who are now homeless.  

(2011)

I think Maya Angelou is on the right track when she says that success is about liking and loving yourself and what you do.  As creative artists we may never have fame or fortune, but if we like what we do, we are truly blessed.  Do you love what you do?  Do you enjoy painting, writing, acting or singing?  And most creative leaders will answer that they do love what they do.  The more difficult questions is:  do you like yourself?  

Happiness is accepting who you are, no matter what the warts, scars and pimples.  Some people live a lifetime and never learn to like themselves.  We are all humans and we have all made mistakes.  Maya Angelou describes many of the challenges and mistakes of her life in her six autobiographies, including her rape at age eight as well as working as a teenage prostitute. Today Angelou at 83 is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, actress and filmmaker.  Dr. Angelou has received over 30 honorary degrees.  In 2011 President Barack Obama presented Maya Angelou with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Have you learned to like yourself?  To accept who you are and from where you have come?  True success is about loving oneself.  

Here is Maya Angelou reading her poem, And Still I Rise.

Adlai E. Stevenson II

"In quiet places, reason abounds."

— Adlai E. Stevenson II

American Politician

1900 - 1965

Silence is a valuable quality for writers and artists to find.  Silence allows us to process the tons of information that enter our brains.  Silence allows creativity to take root and grow beautiful flowers.  Silence allows for reason to prevail over ignorance.

Unfortunately, our society today is filled with too much noise — too much chaos.  So if we are to maintain our sanity we must find places that give us moments of silence.  Where do you go to find that silence?  To restore your spirit?  To maintain your sanity?  Maybe it is a walk at 5 am.  Or kayaking down a river?  Or taking a bubble bath?

Henning Mankell

"Deep down he understood his father.  One should stay faithful to one's dreams.  How faithful had he been to his own?"

— Henning Mankell

Swedish Novelist

1948 -

These sentences come from the short story, The Pyramid, by one of my favorite authors, Henning Mankell.  The main character, Kurt Wallander, has flown to Egypt to rescue his father who was jailed for attempting to climb a pyramid.  Climbing the pyramids was his father's dream.  When Wallander sees the pyramids for the first time, he begins to understand what motivates his father.

I bet your parents also had dreams.  Do you know what those dreams were?  Did they achieve them?  I never knew my father's dreams.  My mother wanted to be a school teacher, but her father never let her go to high school.  Parents influence the dreams of their children.  Sometimes parents force their children down paths they don't want to take.  I was fortunate because my parents allowed me to find my own way.  The flip side is also true.  Children can influence and change the dreams of their parents.  

Have you been faithful to your dreams?  Or are you letting them slip away?  Don't give up on your dreams.  Stay focused and dream big.  Some day you too may climb the pyramids.  

Gustave Courbet

Self-Portrait
(1845)

"Beauty, like truth, is relative to the time when one lives and to the individual who can grasp it."

— Gustave Courbet

French Artist

1819 - 1877

Do you believe that beauty is relative and in the eye of the beholder?  I do.  What is perceived as beauty changes from individual to individual and from culture to culture and from century to century.  That is why some people will like a painting and others will hate it.   That is why some people enjoy a particular novel and others dislike it.  Beauty is not absolute.  It is arbitrary, fragile and dependent on the individual.  

What are your standards of beauty?  How do you judge a painting, a drawing or a novel?  What criteria do you use to judge a work of art?  And what makes your judgement correct?  Have you ever put down an artist or his art?  Have you ever criticized a novel, a film, an actor or an author?  We are applying personal standards of taste?  But what makes our judgement valid?  

Some creative leaders are rich and famous in their own time and forgotten after they die?  Others like Van Gogh or Emily Dickinson are unknown in their own time and become famous after their death.  What accounts for this change of fortune?  Is it the changing standards of beauty?

PJ Proudhon

Ken Kesey

"Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing."

— Ken Kesey

American Novelist

1935 - 2001

One of my favorite novels from my college days is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.  I have read the book a couple of times and seen both the play and the movie.  In a nutshell, it is the story of one man's fight against the establishment.  If you haven't read it, you should.

In this crazy world that we live in, where up is down and right is wrong, we need to learn to laugh.  Humor sometimes is the only way to survive and thrive in a world gone bananas.  I am not saying that you have to be a comedian or tell a lot of jokes.  What I am saying is that you have to have an appreciation for the absurd.  For much of what we encounter in the world of man is absurd.  As creative leaders, we need to reveal the truth buried beneath layers of insanity.  And that brings us back to the Cuckoo's Nest which is set in a psych ward.

Having working in a psych ward for ten months, I can attest that sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between the staff and the patients.  Both exhibit behavior problems.  The only difference is that one group has the keys and the other doesn't.

So if you haven't laughed today, find something absurd and wallow in it.  Laugh to your heart's content.  And have a great day.

Here is a video background on what inspired Kesey to write the novel.

W. S. Merwin

Photo by Matt Valentine

"On the last day of the world 

I would want to plant a tree..."

W. S. Merwin

American Poet

1927 -

From time to time people have predicted the end of the world and their followers have given up their worldly goods and waited — only to find they waited in vain.  Yes, the world as we know it will come to an end one day.  But none of us now living will be here to see it.  In the past, civilizations have come and gone.  Think Mayan, Aztec, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Chinese.  One day our civilization will also pass into history.  

And even the animals and plants come and go.  Remember the dinosaurs?  The human animal too will disappear from this earth and a new species will appear.  But don't fear neither you nor your children or grandchildren will be here to witness it.

So if by some freak accident, you had the opportunity to be on this earth on the last day before the total destruction of the earth, what would you do?  Would you plant a tree as Merwin suggests?  Talk about optimism in the face of disaster.

Over the last thirty years, Merwin, who lives in Hawaii, has planted more then 4,000 trees on 19 acres that were once considered a wasteland.  He has planted 850 different species of trees. Here is the complete poem from which this quote comes.

Place

by W. S. Merwin

On the last day of the world

I would want to plant a tree

what for

not for the fruit

the tree that bears the fruit

is not the one that was planted

I want the tree that stands

in the earth for the first time

with the sun already

going down

and the water

touching its roots

in the earth full of the dead

and the clouds passing

one by one

over its leaves

Here is W. S. Merwin reading his poem, Yesterday.

Johari King

Wave Dreams
(2010)

"I'm learning not to shy away from experiences I want just because I'm afraid of failure and criticism.  And I now know when to remove myself from situations that chip away at my spirit and slowly destroy me.  I've realized it's all about balance and breathing in a bit of fresh air."

— Johari King

American Writer/Painter

1977 -

One of the biggest challenges for many creative leaders is coping with fear: the fear of failure, the fear of success or the fear of criticism.  This fear can actually paralyze the artist within and prevent the production of creative work.  Overcoming this fear takes courage, faith and belief in oneself.  Overcoming this fear can take years.  Even successfully published writers and artists can be paralyzed by fear.  Some turn to alcohol or drugs to take off the edge — to hide the anxiety.  Others withdraw and hide.

This fear can chip away at the spirit and slowly destroy a person.  A creative leader must learn to overcome his anxiety and fear.  He must find a way through the wall that threatens his creativity.  He must learn balance and the ability to breathe fresh air.

What fears are holding you back — keeping you from producing your best work?  What are you doing to find a way through the fear?  How are you finding balance and faith in your life?

Buddha's Garden
(2010)

M. Scott Peck

"The quickest way to change your attitude toward pain is to accept the fact that everything that happens to us has been designed for our spiritual growth."

— M. Scott Peck

American Author

1936 - 2005

I think that we can learn valuable lessons from everything that happens to us.  I believe that one of the reasons we are on this earth is to learn and grow as human beings.  Sometimes we do better than others.  And sometimes we fail to learn our lessons again and again.

In 2006 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had robotic surgery.  I believed then and still believe today that it was an experience that taught me several things — from humility to gratefulness.  

And while this maybe difficult for some to accept, I think the rejection we experience as creative leaders is meant to teach us valuable lessons.  So the next time you face some challenge in your life, ask yourself what lessons you can learn from this experience.  What gift are you being given?

Here is a poem I wrote in response to my diagnosis of cancer and my surgery.

Surgery

God is in the backyard

playing with the squirrels

and rabbits.  I am barbecuing

steaks for dinner and

the wife is preparing the salad.

Tomorrow I am having surgery

and God has come by to

wish me well.  He says I

should not worry because

He will be there holding

my hand.  I smile and

ask if He wants to take

my place on the operating

table.  He ignores my

request and goes on

chatting about how much

better I will feel when

the cancer has been ripped

from my body.  I flip

the steaks over one more time.

Hans Hofmann

"I can't understand how anyone is able to paint without optimism.  Despite the general pessimistic attitude in the world today, I am nothing but an optimist."

— Hans Hofmann

German Painter

1880 - 1966

Being an artist, a writer or an actor requires a lot of optimism.  You have to believe that you will be successful.  You may struggle for years with no recognition or money and yet you must keep working.  You must have the faith that one day the world will discover your talent.  Many people give up too soon.  The negativity of the world wears them down.  You must believe in yourself even when no one else does.

The Golden Wall
(1961)