Welcome (or 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! Here they are:
All Things Tina
Like millions of people around the globe, I’ve been listening to “Simply the Best” and “What’s Love Got to Do with It” over and over and over again since the life force known as Tina Turner died. And watching her unmatchable live performances. And rewatching the documentary about her on HBO, etc., etc.
As awe-inspiring as her incandescent talent was, I’ve been especially taken with interviews with her because there’s so much wisdom about life and creativity to glean from them. I just saw one with Oprah where Tina talks about how she starts her day (at around 30:30 minutes), something I know I need to do differently than my current approach of immediately reaching for my phone (why?!). As soon as she opens her eyes, she moves to a chair to meditate to “finish waking up.” Waking up is normally jarring, whether it’s to an alarm or music or sun streaming through cracks in the blinds. Tina found a satisfying way to address something unsatisfying: take control of it, re-do it, make it better. It made me think about writing revision: we take a draft that’s often unsatisfying and we similarly take control of it, re-do it, make it better. It’s emblematic of an attitude towards life and art of not giving in to things as they are but, instead, actively intervening to improve upon them until we’re satisfied.
A new album: Light Under the Door by Kate Redgate
For me, the only thing better than reading a novel, looking at a painting, or going to a venue to listen to live music is reading, looking, or listening to something fabulous by a family member or friend. The new album Light Under the Door is just that. My friend Kate (whose “Who the Fuck is Kate Redgate?” t-shirts instantly sold out the night I saw her and her killer band at The Music Lounge in Portsmouth, NH) is an amazing, gritty, and honest storyteller and guitarist reminiscent of one of her heroes and mine, Lucinda Williams. When I saw how much fun she and her band were having onstage and how much support she draws from her bandmates, it made me think, once again, of how essential it is to find joy and camaraderie in our creative lives. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer” was the most popular of my Page Fright articles, and that comes as no surprise. Loneliness is an occupational hazard for a writer, and I encourage you to do whatever you can to appreciate and make the most of solitude while avoiding loneliness, which is a potent de-motivator.
A Movie: The Birdcage
In honor of Pride, my hubby and I invited a group of friends over to watch The Birdcage. I suppose it feels a bit like a ‘90s timepiece now, but it’s also a feel-good film for the ages. I marvel at Mike Nichols’ career, specifically how he was equally talented at directing Birdcage as he was heavier films like Silkwood and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Nichols understood the pathos at the heart of humor and the light or sardonic moments that keep a drama from drowning in its own tears. Watching Birdcage for the umpteenth time, I took pleasure in how one of my friends, a first-timer, laughed every time Nathan Lane, as his character Albert Goldman, shrieked. It was such a great reminder that serious, “meaningful” art might make more of a lasting impression on us, but comedy hits just as hard in the moment and is just as necessary to our lives. And, for writers, doing something with humor can bring a lot of joy to the creative process.
A podcast: The 7am Novelist
This is a bad news, good news story. The bad news? The commuter train I take to teach in Boston has been, shall we say, friggin’ unreliable (there have been numerous times when it never arrived, never left the station, slowed to a crawl due to “something flying off the brakes,” experienced signal issues, dumped commuters off to switch to a bus—you get the picture). The good news? It gave me more time to listen The 7am Novelist, which I participated in to talk about finding creative motivation, but which is mostly focused on really specific craft advice for fiction (and memoir) writers. The topics covered and writers interviewed by the excellent author/teacher/podcaster Michelle Hoover are all incredibly interesting and offer invaluable advice. Two of my favorites so far are “Building Believable Antagonists” with Randy Susan Meyers and “Escaping the Muddle in the Middle” with Hank Phillippi Ryan, and there are many more worth your time (even if you’re not stuck on a train).
Reminder: It may be hard to believe if you’re living in a place where the weather is more like April than June or the wildfire-induced yellow haze has made you lose all sense of time or place, but summer is nearly here. And that means…it’s nearly time for the start of my 8-week summer workshop (on Zoom), “Writing from Personal Experience.” Here’s where you can register. Hope to see you there!
What are some of your newfound inspirations for writing? Please share them with the rest of us. And thanks as always for being part of this growing writers’ community!
Good art is not afraid of retelling, aka imitation! What is West Side Story but a retelling of Romeo and Juliette? The Birdcage which I love is a remake of the French movie, La Cage Aux Folle. But the ensemble makes it their own and the result is fabulous. Nathan Lane and Robin Williams are terrific.
Not to take anything away from Tina, but let’s not forget the great backing band she had. And the great songs she made her own, like “Proud Mary,” by John Fogerty, who incidentally had never been to the American South when he wrote it (perhaps a good example of someone inspired by something other than personal experience). And of course the Ikettes. I never get tired of this 1971 clip of Tina from the German Beat-Club TV show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzQnPz6TpGc
For Pride Month, or anytime, it’s time well spent looking at Little Richard, a singer who influenced both Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. Dylan includes this song, “Tutti Frutti,” in his new book, and when I hear McCartney screaming at the end of “Hey Jude,” it makes me think he’s letting out his inner Little Richard. Here’s the original in 1956:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj059o9OwqY
See also the new documentary on the PBS American Masters series, Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll.