They say writing is a solitary endeavor. I don't agree.
I remember a debate I had long, long ago with some friends. The debate question was, "does something count as 'art' if it is never experienced by anyone other than the artist?" I think we were discussing Emily Dickinson and the poems she hid in her wall. Anyway, while my friends took the opinion that yes, of course, a piece counts as art regardless of who sees it or experiences it. I was the lone holdout, claiming that a vital part of the definition of 'art' is that it must reach an audience.
That's been much on my mind as I search for representation for the Moth trilogy, which I completed a little while ago. I am quite proud of it--I think it's a pretty damn exciting story, I fell in love with my own characters, and I like the world I built. I had fun writing it. That was true of Beltrunner, too, though my relationship with Caretaker is rather different. Caretaker I had to write--it was cathartic in a way no other novel of mine has been. There were demons living in my mind, and while I didn't exorcise them with Caretaker, I at least faced them and saw what they looked like.
But back to the question and how it connects to the Moth trilogy. I'm proud of what I did, and even if it ends up that no one else is particularly interested in reading it or buying it or representing it, I'll still be proud of it. Proud I did it at all, of course, but equally proud I brought those characters to life and told their stories. I owed Moth and Tanru and Tib and Heather and all the others their voices, and I'm glad I did it.
So then, what to do with the question? Are Gift of the Moth, Price of the Moth, and Debt of the Moth art, even if no one else ever sees them? Do I contradict my own opinion now that I have a personal stake? Do I hide behind Walt Whitman's beautiful saying, "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself; (I am large, I contain multitudes.)"
Or maybe, the Moth series DID have an audience.
An audience of one.
Maybe that's enough.
Be seeing you!
I remember a debate I had long, long ago with some friends. The debate question was, "does something count as 'art' if it is never experienced by anyone other than the artist?" I think we were discussing Emily Dickinson and the poems she hid in her wall. Anyway, while my friends took the opinion that yes, of course, a piece counts as art regardless of who sees it or experiences it. I was the lone holdout, claiming that a vital part of the definition of 'art' is that it must reach an audience.
That's been much on my mind as I search for representation for the Moth trilogy, which I completed a little while ago. I am quite proud of it--I think it's a pretty damn exciting story, I fell in love with my own characters, and I like the world I built. I had fun writing it. That was true of Beltrunner, too, though my relationship with Caretaker is rather different. Caretaker I had to write--it was cathartic in a way no other novel of mine has been. There were demons living in my mind, and while I didn't exorcise them with Caretaker, I at least faced them and saw what they looked like.
But back to the question and how it connects to the Moth trilogy. I'm proud of what I did, and even if it ends up that no one else is particularly interested in reading it or buying it or representing it, I'll still be proud of it. Proud I did it at all, of course, but equally proud I brought those characters to life and told their stories. I owed Moth and Tanru and Tib and Heather and all the others their voices, and I'm glad I did it.
So then, what to do with the question? Are Gift of the Moth, Price of the Moth, and Debt of the Moth art, even if no one else ever sees them? Do I contradict my own opinion now that I have a personal stake? Do I hide behind Walt Whitman's beautiful saying, "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself; (I am large, I contain multitudes.)"
Or maybe, the Moth series DID have an audience.
An audience of one.
Maybe that's enough.
Be seeing you!
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