Writing is a solitary endeavor. More than anything I try to keep myself from being swayed one way or the other by others' opinions about what I write. But sometimes I catch myself getting into a slump because I received some feedback which makes me second guess my decisions. I try not to be swayed by them because then the Essence of what I'm writing gets muddled. And that's key - know what you're going for and keep that horizon line in sight. But it's natural as an artist to not see yourself clearly. At least, I think it is. The image is a snippet of a letter from: Martha Graham’s advice to fellow dancer & choreographer Agnes de Mille
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It's certainly a great piece of advice to an (already very successful) artist who was struggling with self-judgement and who was perplexed by audience's reception of her work, and it's also a very inspirational mantra to artists to be true to themselves, and to keep working hard - which both women did throughout their lives. Nice quote, CK - it applies to us all.
Absolutely Bill. Stay true!
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I'm a big fan of both Martha Graham and Agnes de Mille, and I've never seen this - thx for posting! It's always fascinating to me when people I consider genius consider their own work mediocre. Maybe being hard-wired to be super critical and hard on ourselves helps us to improve and excel?
I know. That's what I find interesting as well. Obviously this was a private correspondence between two powerhouses in the dance world. I think that most of us feel this and what this tells me is that it's ok to express misgivings and doubts to close friends and colleagues. Really - all both of them and all I need is the reassurance to keep moving forward :) Onward!