This is the latest installment of quotes and words that move me for the weekend of 1/12/13 (Volume 25). I hope you enjoy them too.
(My blogging mojo has been taking its own mini-hiatus. I’m not sure where it went. My guess is it probably got mad at me and left the building when I went sugar-free. I’m sure it will be back at some point, at least I hope. I plan on taking a break until my mojo returns; as Bukowski says,
if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.
Until then, I hope everyone is well. Enjoy this weekend’s words–I’ve made it a slightly longer read to make up for my absence. I’ll see you all soon!)
~~~
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?
It’s based on a novel by a man named Lear
And I need a job, so I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer…
~ The Beatles, “Paperback Writer”, on album “The Beatles 1“, video link HERE.
*
Alternate song: Baz Luhrmann, ”Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen”, album HERE, video link HERE, lyrics HERE
I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked… You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you. Sing. Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind… the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.
*
If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery — isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is. ~ Charles Bukowski
*
This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. ~ From the Holstee Manifesto (below)
*
A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. I feel no obligation to deal with politics. I do feel a responsibility to society because of going into print: a writer has the duty to be good, not lousy; true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend to lift people up, not lower them down. Writers do not merely reflect and interpret life, they inform and shape life. ~ E. B. White
*
You may not be a Picasso or Mozart but you don’t have to be. Just create to create. Create to remind yourself you’re still alive. Make stuff to inspire others to make something too. Create to learn a bit more about yourself. ~ from Frederick Terral’s Manifesto (below) of Right Brain Terrain
*
Of course I stole the title for this talk (Why I Write), from George Orwell. One reason I stole it was that I like the sound of the words: Why I Write. There you have three short unambiguous words that share a sound, and the sound they share is this:
I
I
I
In many ways writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act. You can disguise its qualifiers and tentative subjunctives, with ellipses and evasions — with the whole manner of intimating rather than claiming, of alluding rather than stating — but there’s no getting around the fact that setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully, an invasion, an imposition of the writer’s sensibility on the reader’s most private space. ~ Joan Didion
*
From Jack Kerouac‘s “Belief and Technique for Modern Prose”, these 30 essential tips:
- Scribbled secret notebooks, and wild typewritten pages, for yr own joy
- Submissive to everything, open, listening
- Try never get drunk outside yr own house
- Be in love with yr life
- Something that you feel will find its own form
- Be crazy dumbsaint of the mind
- Blow as deep as you want to blow
- Write what you want bottomless from bottom of the mind
- The unspeakable visions of the individual
- No time for poetry but exactly what is
- Visionary tics shivering in the chest
- In tranced fixation dreaming upon object before you
- Remove literary, grammatical and syntactical inhibition
- Like Proust be an old teahead of time
- Telling the true story of the world in interior monolog
- The jewel center of interest is the eye within the eye
- Write in recollection and amazement for yourself
- Work from pithy middle eye out, swimming in language sea
- Accept loss forever
- Believe in the holy contour of life
- Struggle to sketch the flow that already exists intact in mind
- Don’t think of words when you stop but to see picture better
- Keep track of every day the date emblazoned in yr morning
- No fear or shame in the dignity of yr experience, language & knowledge
- Write for the world to read and see yr exact pictures of it
- Bookmovie is the movie in words, the visual American form
- In praise of Character in the Bleak inhuman Loneliness
- Composing wild, undisciplined, pure, coming in from under, crazier the better
- You’re a Genius all the time
- Writer-Director of Earthly movies Sponsored & Angeled in Heaven
*
Via “Letters of Note“: On August 8th of 1933, author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the following letter of advice to his 11-year-old daughter, “Scottie,” who was away at camp.
Things to worry about:
Worry about courage
Worry about Cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship
Worry about. . .
Things not to worry about:
Don’t worry about popular opinion
Don’t worry about dolls
Don’t worry about the past
Don’t worry about the future
Don’t worry about growing up
Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don’t worry about triumph
Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don’t worry about mosquitoes
Don’t worry about flies
Don’t worry about insects in general
Don’t worry about parents
Don’t worry about boys
Don’t worry about disappointments
Don’t worry about pleasures
Don’t worry about satisfactions
Things to think about:
What am I really aiming at?
How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:
(a) Scholarship
(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?
(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald from F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters.
*
What you should not do, I think, is worry about the opinion of anyone beyond your friends. You shouldn’t worry about prestige. Prestige is the opinion of the rest of the world…
Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you’d like to like…
Prestige is just fossilized inspiration. If you do anything well enough, you’ll make it prestigious. Plenty of things we now consider prestigious were anything but at first. Jazz comes to mind—though almost any established art form would do. So just do what you like, and let prestige take care of itself.
Prestige is especially dangerous to the ambitious. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, the way to do it is to bait the hook with prestige. That’s the recipe for getting people to give talks, write forewords, serve on committees, be department heads, and so on. It might be a good rule simply to avoid any prestigious task. If it didn’t suck, they wouldn’t have had to make it prestigious.
~ Paul Graham, founder of Y-Combinator, from article, How to Do What You Love.
*
so you want to be a writer by Charles Bukowski
if it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it for money or
fame,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don’t do it.
if it’s hard work just thinking about doing it,
don’t do it.
if you’re trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.
if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.
if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you’re not ready.
don’t be like so many writers,
don’t be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don’t be dull and boring and
pretentious, don’t be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don’t add to that.
don’t do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don’t do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don’t do it.
when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.
there is no other way.
and there never was.
“so you want to be a writer” by Charles Bukowski, from “Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way: New Poems“
~~~
For you – inspired by the Bukowski quotation ~
Gotta love Modest Mouse, thanks Ruta!
“But one time out of ten
Everything is perfect for us all”
Maybe the “happiest” line of the song
Hey, I heard a rumor that Bowie may be coming out of retirement….
That may or may not bode well – I don’t want to see Bowie as a pathetic has been rock star!
Maybe he’s been “waiting patiently for it to roar out” of him again.
Or maybe he just needs the money.
Does he ever age though? Seems he’s looked the same for 30 years! Good genes or good make-up.
Like Dick Clark?
Brilliant set, RoS!
Enjoy your break, and we’ll be here when you get back.
Thanks Guap, try to stay out of trouble. See ya soon.
Quickly read through as I get ready for my morning meeting.
OH.
YES!
There is so much here for me to ponder and dwell on…or maybe not, just to re-read and let work on me!!
I love these every week, but I am in love with this one!
Thank you!!
You are so welcome Michele. I was in search of some inspiration to help me beat this funky slump, and I found some gems… So glad you liked them too!
Is it Feb 1 yet??? I know there are about 8 French Baguettes with my name on them. I know this because I’ve literally dreamt of them! Like the Fantasia Dancing Broomsticks– Dancing Baguettes.
oh man….
i need to blog about 40 different things right now, the food thing being one. I’m pretty sure I’ve had my last baguette, i know, i know. But I am seeing some big improvement in certain chronic conditions, and it’s one of the every-damn-thing I have given up.
DAMNIT!!
I’m so glad it’s working for you! That’s what you wanted, right? So, yay!!!
i’ll come back to comment more tomorrow, but i saw this article yesterday and it made me think of you and ITSB! http://www.salon.com/2013/01/06/former_drunks_make_unstoppable_runners/
I love it Al! I’ve often wondered why I finally “clicked” with the whole running thing–this article does a great job articulating that connection.
I’ve even been reading some running memoirs lately, and it’s amazing how many runners come from a past life of addiction. Because not everyone advertises that fact, they just mention it in passing. Shows me that a large % of runners were addicted, or maybe just a large % of us all tackle addiction at some point.
Great read, and I really appreciate you thinking of me (and Boat).
Let me know what quote clicked with you–you seem a bit of a Bukowski guy, no?
Great post.. love everything here from Fitzgerald to Bukowski to Holstee (if I may brag, they actually have my Manifesto on their site.. I almost fainted
)
We all have the same thing in common, free will. We need to use that to make changes we want and have trust they will happen.
Great inspirational post today Chica! High Five!!
Is it on their site?!? Of course you can brag!! That’s awesome!!
I remember you sharing the Holstee bit–that’s where I learned about it, but didn’t remember you were published there too. Wow!
So glad you enjoyed the set, Lynne. Enjoy your week!
yepper..you should send in a Life manifesto too.. we could be Holstee twins
http://mylife.holstee.com/post/36076734339/a-year-ago-this-time-i-was-flipping-through-cyber
You’re a rockstar.
Seriously, that’s so cool. I will def be looking into that option.
NOLA bound. Love that city. We sure could be twins in a myriad of ways.
Think I can fit all of Kerouac’s Beliefs and Techniques on a laminated card to carry around in my pocket? My pockets are already bursting with flotsam and jetsam, a smooth stone to worry on, a perfect tiny shell, my pretty purple rosary and an angel whose wings I tore off because they were too sharp. Now I have to make room for Kerouac?
Thank you my friend for helping me fill my pockets, my Kindle, my headphones and my notebooks. Have a great break. Kary
There is ALWAYS room for Kerouac.
6 point font. You may need a magnifying glass, but it’ll fit.
Or you could just tattoo the words all over your body. Or use a sharpie if you don’t like needles. Or scroll them out on fancy parchment and tape it on your bathroom mirror. Or forget the parchment and just use lipstick to write them on the mirror itself. Lots of options!
And thank you for all the love and support Amiga! I’m happy to be part of your journey, and so glad you’re part of mine.
“if you have to wait for it to roar out of you, then wait patiently.” Love that line. We’ll be here when you get back. Another great set of inspiration.
<3
http://wordsandotherthings.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/liebster-blog-award/
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Nicole!!! <3 you too!
I'll be back soon–nothing like announcing a break that makes you want to start writing again. The dusty cogs are already turning again. Plus I have some cool questions to answer!
Run Bartender, run!
Lovely words, as always. Joan Didion is a favorite of mine.
Hope your hiatus is short-lived.
Hey Gus, glad you enjoyed! Didion is brilliant–I still can’t bring myself to sit through more than a chapter or two of her “Year of Magical Thinking” without wanting to bawl.
I have a feeling it will be a short break; I’m already starting to get fidgety.
Hope you’ve been doing well, thanks for dropping by.
Love the Bukowski and Sunscreen bits and lessons therein. Hope your break is restful and rejuvenating.
Thank you bbb, I appreciate your kind comment. I’ve been getting some R&R, it’s been really nice.
I love this all. But this the most:
if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.
And there you go. Nice inspiration!
Now, off to go get some more things done, and rock the energy that I feel for once!!
Celeste
Hi Celeste, so glad you dropped by! Glad you’re having energetic days… I love those. The days are just so full of possibility! See you soon my dear, be well.
thank you, you inspire me.
Thank you, Huan, I really appreciate your nice comment.
Hi Christy,
I just dropped by here to say THANK YOU for the gorgeous comments on my own blog, and for the birthday wishes. I poked around a bit, and was stopped dead in my tracks by this amazing poem.
I’ve never been a big fan of Bukowski’s writing, but then again, I’ve never happened across this particular poem, and the timing is astounding. I just wrote yesterday about my recognition (at last!) of this burning, undeniable need inside of me to WRITE. And here he explained why and what I feel perfectly. I know that it’s true for me, because I feel the response in my bones.
So thank you for the support on my blog, and the sweet words about my writing, and for introducing me to this poem – I will print and stick it above my work area. Truly inspiring!
Michelle
Hi Michelle, I’m glad you commented! I’m really loving your style–you’re such a talented writer.
I hear you on Bukowski. He’s such a callous and rude ass in so much of his writing, but then I read something like “so you want to be a writer” or “a vote for the gentle light” (below) and all misgivings are forgotten and I go hunting for more gems and the cycle invariably repeats itself.
I’m so glad you found your passion, and I’m so glad you found me!
This is another Bulowski favorite, I posted it here:
http://runningonsober.com/2012/11/24/words-for-the-weekend-aching-for-the-gentle-light-volume-19/
A Vote For the Gentle Light – Charles Bukowski
a vote for the gentle light
burned senseless by other people’s constant
depression,
I pull the curtains apart,
aching for the gentle light.
it’s there, it’s there
somewhere,
I’m sure.
oh, the faces of depression, expressions
pulled down into the gluey dark.
the bitter small sour mouths,
the self-pity, the self-justification is
too much, all too much.
the faces in shadow,
deep creases of gloom.
there’s no courage there, just the desire to
possess something––admiration, fame, lovers,
money, any damn thing
so long as it comes easy.
so long as they don’t have to do
what’s necessary.
and when they don’t succeed they
become embittered,
ugly,
they imagine that they have
been slighted, cheated,
demeaned.
then they concentrate upon their
unhappiness, their last
refuge.
and they’re good at that,
they are very good at that.
they have so much unhappiness
they insist upon your sharing it
too.
they bathe and splash in their
unhappiness,
they splash it upon you.
it’s all they have.
it’s all they want.
it’s all they can be.
you must refuse to join them.
you must remain yourself.
you must open the curtains
or the blinds
or the windows
to the gentle light.
to joy.
it’s there in life
and even in death
it can be
there.
Wow, another breathtaking one! These poems really do not compare to ‘he Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship’ (the one and ONLY Bukowski book I ever tried to read).
People can really surprise you, huh?
M
For the better and for the worse, yes…
But oh thank god for the better!
Personal fave:
“I try to leave out the parts that people skip.”
― Elmore Leonard
Haha, that’s awesome Al!
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