From flawed authors of unlimited vision come flawless literary works.
There is a popular and persistent myth, where an author is imagined to
script works of wisdom effortlessly and seamlessly at an oak desk in
flowing, cursive elegant hand. Adoring and admiring audiences then accept
these masterpieces with effusive praise and glowing literary commentary.
The writing life, according to lore, is one of indolence, charm, and
affluence.
Contrary to the myth, it takes unlimited vision and skill to write a thin
slice of life in scenes vivid enough to touch and hold interest. For
those authors, the voice is distinct and the phrases genuine. Universal
truths ring from the paragraphs that sparkle, glow, and dance upon the
page. Satire, irony, parody, comedy are handled well. The writing is
unashamed and uninhibited; it exhibits clarity, dexterity, and
extraordinary precision.
Writers are plagued by depression, poverty, estrangement, ostracism,
censorship, suicide, banishment, and incarceration. William Sydney Porter
wrote while in jail; Dorothy Parker and F. Scott Fitzgerald drank heavily;
Robert E. Howard, Hunter S. Thompson, Alice Sheldon, and John Kennedy
Toole took their own lives; Ezra Pound spent time in a psychiatric
hospital; James Joyce’s works were forbidden in the United States. The
commentaries, stories, novels, poetry were leading edge, clever, and
significant.
Too late the works were appreciated; too late the authors
were applauded for their insight, drive, and persistence.
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This is the second in a series of guest posts by Lynn Wienck of The Chisholm Trail Bookstore