tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post1024982074578963936..comments2024-03-20T16:46:13.343-04:00Comments on Marly Youmans / The Palace at 2:00 a.m. / poems, stories, novels: Letter to a young artistMarly Youmanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-75848712459146882902014-06-18T23:22:08.710-04:002014-06-18T23:22:08.710-04:00I like that response, Umbagollah. I'd probably...I like that response, Umbagollah. I'd probably also say that--say, as in the case when a lyric poem floods out--that there is even more mystery to getting lost, to making things, and to the sensation that a force not quite our own pours through us or flashes along the nerves.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-25471511462103684042014-06-18T19:20:48.663-04:002014-06-18T19:20:48.663-04:00Then I'd add that by "paying attention&qu...Then I'd add that by "paying attention" I also mean "cultivating a habit of attention," and habits can continue to operate even when the person is "lost" -- is not thinking, "Now I must pay attention, now I must create a structure," or anything similar. I don't think it's necessary to believe (this is the first example that comes to mind) that Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-38433556862557735972014-06-17T12:36:38.328-04:002014-06-17T12:36:38.328-04:00That's an elegant definition, Umbagollah!
Ma...That's an elegant definition, Umbagollah! <br /><br />Maybe it's because I am a more instinctual writer, at least in initial drafts, but I'd tend to want to add in something of "getting lost." There's such a fruitful abolition of self in the course of making things, at least when they are going well, that one has a very different sense of attention paid and making Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-82526620297010359212014-06-17T11:51:57.787-04:002014-06-17T11:51:57.787-04:00Easiest thing to forget, hardest thing to do. In f...Easiest thing to forget, hardest thing to do. In fact I would hazard this as a working definition of art: the structured depiction of attention. Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-78893941277806878712014-06-16T17:48:04.772-04:002014-06-16T17:48:04.772-04:00Hi Marja-Leena--
Me too! Should've put play i...Hi Marja-Leena--<br /><br />Me too! Should've put play in there...<br /><br />I don't know why anybody ever asks me for advice. I can't say that I'm very savvy about how things "work" in a worldly way.<br /><br />Thank you, Marja-Leena. I was just thinking of you.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-4775085785207094152014-06-16T17:34:52.566-04:002014-06-16T17:34:52.566-04:00Excellent! Sounds like a graduation address to you...Excellent! Sounds like a graduation address to young artists, full of wisdom. And I totally agree with Clive's addition.<br /><br />And I enjoyed hearing your lovely melodic voice in the video, Marly!marja-leenahttp://www.marja-leena-rathje.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-14997757849890340082014-06-16T15:49:28.105-04:002014-06-16T15:49:28.105-04:00Oh, yes--frolic and play and joy...Oh, yes--frolic and play and joy...Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-33343554345921094462014-06-16T15:33:31.905-04:002014-06-16T15:33:31.905-04:00Yes, all of those things that Marly has said. I se...Yes, all of those things that Marly has said. I second everything in the above. But I'd add one more thing. <br /><br />Don't forget to bring a sense of play to your work. Even when we aspire to the serious and the worthy, there must be an element of play in the making of art. That's easy to forget when we're striving for excellence, but artists neglect play at their peril. Clive Hicks-Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00573698513351018726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-39701923222039971192014-06-16T11:40:42.147-04:002014-06-16T11:40:42.147-04:00That's probably more likely to be remembered! ...That's probably more likely to be remembered! Though I hope in this case it is already a given...Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-30151545221877339062014-06-16T11:39:49.876-04:002014-06-16T11:39:49.876-04:00Robin, thanks. Glad you enjoyed what tumbled out o...Robin, thanks. Glad you enjoyed what tumbled out of my head.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-11563286541341190612014-06-16T11:29:40.668-04:002014-06-16T11:29:40.668-04:00Mine would be this:
Pay attention.Mine would be this:<br /><br />Pay attention.Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-1878290042500985752014-06-16T11:21:04.217-04:002014-06-16T11:21:04.217-04:00Thank you, Marly, for sharing your lovely and insp...Thank you, Marly, for sharing your lovely and inspiring thoughts here!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08708161544672700715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-73815695718134127262014-06-16T10:58:57.807-04:002014-06-16T10:58:57.807-04:00My, you are quick, Robinka! Hadn't even hopped...My, you are quick, Robinka! Hadn't even hopped off yet... Hope you're still having much luck with the anthology. I shall have to go by and see.Marly Youmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02377938366750387442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11539948.post-81963644840046135232014-06-16T10:55:17.605-04:002014-06-16T10:55:17.605-04:00Lovely post, well worthy of sharing.Lovely post, well worthy of sharing.Robbi N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04881145195435485238noreply@blogger.com