by Anton Martin Smith antonmartinsmith@gmail.com
Well of course I’m going mad – if you ask an accountant that is. Anyone who actively engages in the arts and/or writing (or any high creative endeavor) will be seen as varying shades of ‘insane’. I mean what could be more normal than creativity? I mean is it not what every single person did when they were a child?
At what point does the stuffy office boring twat say to himself
“oh no I can’t be creative anymore, I’ve got to be an adult and sacrifice my life to office-o the destroyer – it’s the only mature thing to do. I’ll never touch a crayon, an artistic paint brush or some Das branded clay ever again – oh and I also need a real mean cold hearted bitch to marry and act as my career advisor too…by the way where’s the Financial Times gone….I was reading the Nasdaq share lists the bog a second ago”.
You see people are hoodwinked into stopping doing the things they enjoyed as children and teenagers under the guise of ‘being mature’. Of course it’s all a scam to sell mortgages, golf clubs, audi’s and a whole cacophony of stupid shiny things. But I don’t need to tell you that. You’re very smart. You’re here reading this blog/website in the first place.
So anyway – perhaps this is why when people get to fifty odd, they wake up to the scam and start to draw or ride ponies or go go carting again. I can only applaud that.
Sure I’m not saying “All us artists are the salt of the Earth for being forever child-like” – the NPC does have a slither of truth behind him in that most garden variety lifelong artists are often far too immature/imbalanced. You see there is a difference between being ‘healthily child like’ and ‘immature’. One sign that a artist/writer has the balance right is that they respect their art forms. They actively respect the knowledge, the craft and the novice to journeyman to master process. I’m trying to do that with my writing.
I would say I’ve been a lover of books and storytelling my whole life. I love words, I wish I did know more of the rarer ones – I think it’s wise for serious writers to be able to use some of the great unused words – at least here and there. There’s nothing snobby about that.
Take a word like ‘peregrinations’ – which I believe is a ‘long meandering walk of leisure, or period of wandering, often in foreign lands or by foot’. It’s great to use a word like that here and there – not for flash but to illustrate a point, describe a character etc.
Take another word – “inter alia” meaning among other things – another self evident great word.
Let’s go another -“exigency” means essentially ‘the urgent realistic requirements of a matter mean this also needs to be done or happen’. e.g. ‘The exigencies of buying shoes while barefoot means you will also need to buy socks’.
Anyway – perhaps I have stumbled on a great new idea for a regular post-segment: “let’s all learn new words”.
Anyway I’m glad that in my bloggy metaphorical peregrinations regarding ‘childlike creativity vs immaturity’ that I may have discovered a new blog-segment, inter alia, namely the urgent use of a word like exigency.
And now I have to fly – have a great week.
Thanks to all those that read my stuff, eh.
Anton M. Smith (as usual late at night when the brain fires up reeeeal gooood).
P.s. I’ve been watching Rik Mayal’s short-lived 2002 comedy ‘Don’t Believe It’ – It’s not bad. Also the great ‘In Betweeners’ from not long after. I have always loved English comedy – I’m trying to think what the last great English comedy was? I’m thinking it was The Office – but surely there’s been something else since then? Hmmm
P.P.s I finally finished the rough draft my latest long form work (Novella) – It’s called ‘Bouncing Through The Wringer’ – it’s on the site go search for it. I’m pretty happy with it. I probably should be hiding it but something about me says not too.
Anton Martin Smith Writer 