Channeling Monsters

To Whom Do You Bow

“The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination.”

Richard Wright

Whenever I set out to make a piece of art, I have no idea what it will be, or where it will go. It is a process of exploration. Sometimes, just a piece of fabric or a glimpse of color begins the process, but once begun, I still have no idea where it will end. It's strange the way the muse operates—as though it carries the agenda, and you or I simply provide the necessary appendages. I find writing to be a similar process. Someone mentioned Richard Wright to me yesterday. I didn't know anything about him, so I looked him up this morning and found only a handful of quotes. I chose this one, not because I knew what I would write in responding to it, but because it was the one that grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go.

Lots of writers speak about the experience of the characters in their stories taking unexpected turns, and insisting on doing their own thing. It's almost like trying to force a cat back into a bag once it's escaped. The character fights tooth and nail to have its own way, and when you attempt to carry on as though this difference of opinion had not happened, the writing becomes dull and lifeless. Unless the work is non-fiction, the story exists somewhere else and is simply channeled through the writer.

Sometimes, we must acknowledge the monsters of our own imagination in other ways, too. I find that I am frequently of two minds about people, or groups of people. On the one hand, I have my prejudices and opinions; even though I've tried to erase them from my memory banks, they are still there, not eradicated. On the other hand, I've spent seventy years learning a different way of life. I've learned how prejudices work and why we hold them—that they are based on fear of all things different, fear of change, and fear of losing one's position in society. I remind myself everyday that these fears are figments of my own imagination—that change is inherent to life, and that fighting change is, once again, like trying to stuff the cat back into the bag. Furthermore, reality check—I have no position in society to lose. Overcoming our irrational fears is a challenge we face from birth to death.

Our monsters, whether fear based, or exploratory in nature, are endlessly creative. They produce amazing works of art, as well as horrifying and destructive fictions of fear. We must decide to which we will bow.

                                                     In the Spirit,

                                                        Jane