Brilliant woman! Definitely worth listening to!
A different way to think about creative genius – Elisabeth Gilbert
March 1, 2009 by erasmuses
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Thanks for posting this. Very useful talk for anyone who reflects on his or her own creative process.
I agree with the essential message that an artist / writer needs to create some distance between herself and her work and for the reasons she cites — to avoid narcissism in the face of success and self-loathing in the fact of failure.
Since my own predilections are more secular, I often return to Richard Rorty’s observation (which I am paraphrasing) that an artistic genius is someone who pursues an idiosyncratic project that other people happen to find beautiful and / or helpful.
So, whether or not what we create will be labeled, brilliant, genius, or best-selling is ultimately in the hands of our fellow humans and whether or not they are willing to recognize it as something valuable. I think this fits nicely with Gilbert’s discussion of Ole.
I also think Gilbert’s conclusion can be drawn from Rorty’s observation: keep at it, work hard, and don’t worry too much what it one day may be called — that is largely out of a person’s hands.
WOWSA! Very much worth listening to! I get it!
Ole! Love ya – Marilyn