I used to think that I would write until the day I died. That I would pass away with a pen in my hand and a posthumous novel slated for publication once the right amount of respectable time had passed. I know different now. I know that I wont be writing that seven book saga that requires years and years and sometimes decades of dedication or clinking champagne glasses while shouting out, "Eight seasons & a movie!" or penning the next big film franchise. Nope, not this nigga.
The last few weeks have been rather illuminating for me. I've discovered things about myself that I think I have always known but never thought were really of much importance.
As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I've been reading Sir Ken Robinson's book The Element, a book about marrying your passion with natural aptitude in the search for direction in one's life. I've been reading it with this whole, yeah, I've already found my Element, it's right here and it's called writing. thing going on. But then I was having a conversation with my mother, a cousin and another cousin's wife the other day and she went around to each of us and asked us, "What is your passion?" when it came to my turn to answer my cousin said, "I think we all know what that is." She was referring to my writing of course. I countered her by saying, "Um, actually..." and went on to tell them that although writing has always been a part of my life, and will probably always be my actual passion is seeing people pin-point, pursue and achieve their passions. Especially within the arts. To provide them with anything that I can to help in achieving this. Which at the moment mostly consists of nothing more than the knowledge that I myself have accrued in my own pursuit.'
Looking around I've realized that as a creative there are very few platforms with which I can express myself without feeling hampered or inhibited. As a writer I have no desire to be an "African Writer"- I just want to be a writer. Yet most of the platforms available out there are on the look out for "authentically African" writers that produce "authentically African" work. Whatever that's supposed to mean in 2014. I may be wrong but I feel as if there are a lot of writers out there that want to break free of what I think is a rather dated and constricting construct. I may be wrong but if I'm right then I believe that they can not do it alone. We can not do it alone. We need help. We need platforms that will say, "OK, here we are. You can express yourself exactly how you want. We wont force you to be politically conscious or socially aware or subtly pan-African or brazenly feminist. You can just be you. And if you are any of those things, good for you!"
But where are these platforms? I've searched high, I've searched low. I've cracked Google in half looking for them. I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe they still need to be built. From foundation to helipad roof. And it is this, that I realize, that I truly see myself doing in the years to come. And I say this not only for the writers out there but for creatives across the board. We. Need. Help. But don't get me wrong though, I'll still be writing- certainly; creating things- always. but at the end of the day all I really want to be is the coach, not the star player.
The last few weeks have been rather illuminating for me. I've discovered things about myself that I think I have always known but never thought were really of much importance.
As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I've been reading Sir Ken Robinson's book The Element, a book about marrying your passion with natural aptitude in the search for direction in one's life. I've been reading it with this whole, yeah, I've already found my Element, it's right here and it's called writing. thing going on. But then I was having a conversation with my mother, a cousin and another cousin's wife the other day and she went around to each of us and asked us, "What is your passion?" when it came to my turn to answer my cousin said, "I think we all know what that is." She was referring to my writing of course. I countered her by saying, "Um, actually..." and went on to tell them that although writing has always been a part of my life, and will probably always be my actual passion is seeing people pin-point, pursue and achieve their passions. Especially within the arts. To provide them with anything that I can to help in achieving this. Which at the moment mostly consists of nothing more than the knowledge that I myself have accrued in my own pursuit.'
Looking around I've realized that as a creative there are very few platforms with which I can express myself without feeling hampered or inhibited. As a writer I have no desire to be an "African Writer"- I just want to be a writer. Yet most of the platforms available out there are on the look out for "authentically African" writers that produce "authentically African" work. Whatever that's supposed to mean in 2014. I may be wrong but I feel as if there are a lot of writers out there that want to break free of what I think is a rather dated and constricting construct. I may be wrong but if I'm right then I believe that they can not do it alone. We can not do it alone. We need help. We need platforms that will say, "OK, here we are. You can express yourself exactly how you want. We wont force you to be politically conscious or socially aware or subtly pan-African or brazenly feminist. You can just be you. And if you are any of those things, good for you!"
But where are these platforms? I've searched high, I've searched low. I've cracked Google in half looking for them. I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe they still need to be built. From foundation to helipad roof. And it is this, that I realize, that I truly see myself doing in the years to come. And I say this not only for the writers out there but for creatives across the board. We. Need. Help. But don't get me wrong though, I'll still be writing- certainly; creating things- always. but at the end of the day all I really want to be is the coach, not the star player.
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