miscellany: nadine gordimer, death, writers with writers or writers with accountants?

“The best way to write is to do so as if one were already dead, afraid of no one’s reactions, answerable to no one’s views.” ~ nadine gordimer

i love this quote — i love how gordimer describes writing as the most extreme of acts.

on an entirely different note:

i wonder what you guys think about writers hanging out with writers: for me, i sometimes feel driven to an almost maddening degree of self-consciousness. the dialogue feels strangely circular, and the conversation feels often more about words than about life. why is this so? how can writers break out of this prison? creative cross-fertilization, perhaps? make new painter/actor/accountant-friends? i also acknowledge and value the importance of community for the writer, because the act of writing is inherently lonely.

2 Comments

philschroeder posted on June 15, 2011 at 8:11 am

So Elizabeth, the first thing I want to suggest is to merge Nadine’s quote with your question…

I don’t think these are entirely different topics at all, and somehow no mistake that you put them in the same post.

jgf posted on June 17, 2011 at 2:50 pm

i personally love hanging out with my artist friends: actors and playwrights, writers, photographers, musicians…they’re always fun and nurturing and interesting…they’re not the ones who want to discuss the latest box score or hockey game…still, i know what you mean: i have all kinds of friend from all walks of life…some of my friends are born again and i know one or two who think george bush and ronald reagan were the most amazing presidents of our time…it makes for some interesting discussions and dancing partners sometimes…and i think for artists, the one real thing we can do to help ourselves grow is just go out and live our lives, live full lives filled with friends and family and travel and barbecues and yes, even conversations with that smelly man on the t or the boring accountant…then you bring what you learn about life and yourself to your medium, whether it’s the printed page or the stage or canvas…

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