Yes! I ran outside yesterday! The wind chill was about 20 degrees, but there was no ice on the side of the road and I saw robins. ROBINS! Granted, they had wrapped their wings around themselves and were hopping up and down to keep warm. And, granted, they were accusing each other of making a big mistake flying north so soon. But they were ROBINS.
My daffodils are still sleeping under the snow, but I bet they are starting to think about doing something green.
Here is your quote for the day, from photographer Dorothea Lange: ““The secret places of the heart are the real mainsprings of one’s actions.”
She was quoted by my friend, Elizabeth Partridge, in a wonderful Horn Book article about the spirit that fuels all us artists, and what makes life worth living.
What do you think about this article?
I especially enjoyed EP’s mention of Woody Guthrie’s soul.
Inspiring article! Elizabeth’s bio of Dorothea Lange is one of my favorites to read and to study as a NF writer myself.
My last blog was about researching writers and publishers who have produced books I admire. Two of those are written by Elizabeth.
Trees are just beginning to bloom here in WI. Spring has sprung!
I thought so much of it, I printed it…
Thank you for sharing…I like her father’s comment. I don’t take it literally, as if we stop creating at 25 — but it is wonderful to teach young people to follow their creative spirits NOW. I think that was the spirit of his heart-felt comment, elder to youth.
I will always wonder what I might have done, had I followed my heart at 17…since I work with children creatively (Cub leader) I try to teach them they should follow their creative pursuits whole-heartedly, whether they also plan ‘day-jobs’ or not. Great article!
I thought quite a lot about this article. First off, it wasn’t badly written. Secondly, I really needed something like this. I mean, I’ve loved writing all my life, and lately it’s either writer’s block, or my entire writing career has just been childhood pathological psychoses (ages 5-10) or teenage angst (11-15). So reading about the creative spirit vs the physical spirit is nice. No one ever speaks of it in such a literal sense.
Thanks for sharing. =] Oh, and as for the weather, at least you’re not in a place where the weather is bipolar. It goes from 30 to 80 day by day here. =]
Elizabeth Partridge Article
I loved it…it explains why as writers,why we are who we are. All the crazy, unexplained things that happen on this journey. Why I wake up some mornings with inspirations (my hun was doing his/her job)AND coming from a family of artists, my father was a photographer,Myron Wood, I understand why Dorthea Lange had to be so raw with her photographs. So many artists have a strong hun:Kurt Vonnegut, Andy Worhol..
Good stuff in that article. I need to leave you with a line from Anne Lamott’s book, Bird by Bird (I finally read it!), “When what we see catches us off guard, and when we write it as realistically and openly as possible, it offers hope.”
How is you cousin doing, by the way?,