Whenever I tell people that I'm studying English and Professional Writing in school I get looked at like I just sat up out of a coffin. The typical questions I get asked vary from what I plan on doing with my life after school, where an English major will get me and various pieces of advice on where I should work until I "make a name for myself". It's pretty hard to get taken seriously when you're a 21-year-old writer/journalist.
A recent article in Huffington Post titled "Dispelling the Myth of the Poet: Why All Writers Should Defend Their Craft", Lisa Marie Basile, discusses how she defends her craft to those around her. She is a poet, the author of Apocryphal and the Founding Editor of Luna Luna Magazine. Basile shares that in a world of bankers and accountants, she is the odd man out. Her job is seen as nothing more than a hobby and she is deemed less valuable because she doesn't balance your checkbook.
"When you say that you are a poet, the retorts are plentiful. Many are ignorant but forgivable and others are reductive and insulting. For whatever reason, the Poet's work seems to have been both diminished to that of a drippy college elective (made worse by the canonical white hetero-normative selections we're taught) and a personal hobby. And if you've never read poetry, you've seen the primitive depictions of it in film: poets are depressive and manically consuming coffee. And they have so many feelings."
Though I am not a poet, I understand where Basile is coming from. Art is usually swept under the rug as being invaluable (unless of course you're famous) and those who studied math or science are immediately verified as great contributors to the world. Not that I'm bashing any program; any graduate student has accomplished something great, no matter what their program was. But for some reason, the arts aren't seen as an accomplishment. If you're in the arts, you're always asked what your "real job" is whereas a lawyer is never questioned about his day job. Batman versus Robin.
One of the biggest things that bothers me in university is how easy people think writing is. Anyone can write, yes. That's the beauty of the craft. But not everyone can do it well. That is why writing is something so much more than a "hobby". It's so annoying to sit in my classes and overhear people telling their friends that writing courses are bird courses or that they're only there because they needed to take the class. "Ooh, this class will be easy. It's only writing."
One of the biggest things that bothers me in university is how easy people think writing is. Anyone can write, yes. That's the beauty of the craft. But not everyone can do it well. That is why writing is something so much more than a "hobby". It's so annoying to sit in my classes and overhear people telling their friends that writing courses are bird courses or that they're only there because they needed to take the class. "Ooh, this class will be easy. It's only writing."
It's hard to explain writing to someone who hated it in high school or only takes it in university because they think it's an easy A. It's like trying to explain God to an atheist. Thelonius Monk described it best when he said, "trying to explain music is like trying to dance architecture".
I don't know if I'll ever convince non-writers how life changing the craft is but until I do, Basile offers some great advice to poets that speak to artists everywhere:
I don't know if I'll ever convince non-writers how life changing the craft is but until I do, Basile offers some great advice to poets that speak to artists everywhere:
"When you're at a party, a family gathering, a wedding, a bar-wherever people might ask you about life as a poet, be honest: tell them about your work. Don't self-deprecate. Defend the countless hours, the late-nights wading through submissions, the pain and glory of rejections and acceptances. Tell them about why you write, why it matters and why it has an impact. Don't settle for hobbyist because it's easy to explain. [...] Don't talk down to them. When they ask you "what's your poetry about?" don't water it down. Let it speak for itself. This is something most poets find difficult, because how do you explain white space and metaphor? You just do. Just try. Trust your audience in the making."
Until next time,
Maria
Maria