Four or Five of My Favorite Things

For inspiring creativity

Welcome back to this special column, where I share four or five works of art, writings, quotations, people, and nature, etc. that inspire me to write and create. I hope they do the same for you and that you’ll also share your own sources of inspiration in the Comments section!

An audiobook

I don’t tend to listen to audiobooks of novels because I usually absorb a story better when seeing words on a page. But, when I came across a tweet by a former student of mine recommending the audiobook of one of my favorite novels, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, read by none other than the incredible and versatile actress Annette Benning, I decided to give it a try. It is fantastic! What attracts me most to this novel is the breathless quality of Woolf’s sentences, and Benning captures the cadence perfectly. Unsurprisingly, she also inhabits the character of Clarisse Dalloway the way an actor inhabits a character for the stage or screen, making Clarisse’s wishes, longings, and disappointments feel especially poignant.

A movie

My hubby Matt and I have watched all or parts of Moonstruck an embarrassing number of times. So have a lot of other people we know and, I suspect, millions we don’t know (based on how often it’s on TV). What is it about this film that makes it so damn lovable? There are the indelible performances by Cher, Olympia Dukakis, a young Nicolas Cage, and others. And the heartwarming themes of family and optimism and la bella luna. But for me, above all else, I’m drawn in again and again by the screenplay by John Patrick Shanley. Every single line of dialogue fills me with happiness that such perfect writing exists in this world.

A play

I often feel engaged in theater performances, but I’m rarely spellbound. But spellbound is exactly what I was when my sister and I saw Patti Lupone in Terence McNally’s Master Class on Broadway years ago. I’ve often wondered why. Yes, Lupone’s a phenomenal actress, yes, she has amazing stage presence, but even so, what was it about this one performance that had me so riveted? I love books, movies, and plays about artists, and this one was about famed opera singer Maria Callas giving a master class near the end of her life. But beyond that, I think it was the magnetic force of passion squared – the passionate Lupone playing the passionate Callas. I’m so glad it was captioned on video so I could share a clip with you.

A memorable quotation

Speaking of live theater, this is Glenn Close’s take on the impact it should have on an audience member: “Good live theater disturbs molecules. You create an energy source around yourself and it alternates between you and the audience. Anybody who sees live theater should come out a little rearranged.” Maybe this applies not only to performance but to writing, too. Whatever your genre, can you aim to leave the reader “a little rearranged?”

What moves you to write/create? If you’d like, please share a source of inspiration for you. And thank you, as always, for being part of this vibrant writers’ community!