Why I Write

Writing has always come easily to me. I won’t say it has always been well executed; I cringe and laugh at some of the stuff I wrote when I was younger. I’m sure one day, I’ll look back on the things I’m writing now and feel much the same. In the end though, I would still chalk most of my writing up as a success.

So what does it mean to be successful at writing? To me, writing is an art form, just like painting, photography, sculpting, or any other noble pursuit. Then we can be left with the problem of trying to define the meaning of art itself. I say “problem” because art is an incredibly subjective beast. Obscenity is much like art in this regard, and in the oft-quoted words of United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “I know it when I see it.”

I personally believe the goal of art, regardless of its medium, it to speak to another human being’s soul. We can rate art from that point based on its effectiveness in doing so, but I believe art can be considered “successful” if it is able to do this in any capacity.

You may disagree with me, and if so then that’s perfectly acceptable. Art is not one of life’s great truths, except in the sense that it most definitely exists. I think that mutating, shifting nature that lies behind art is a big part of what makes it so special in the first place.

Call it “finding your muse,” call it “being in touch with your inner self,” or call it “corny.” Whatever you choose to call it, all artists know exactly what I’m talking about. We write/draw/sculpt page upon page of material just for those few moments of existential high that come when we truly connect the dots that are hidden behind the fabric of life. We seek to pull forth that truest essence of reality, clouded by war and famine, greed and hardship. Whether it comes from reading Shakespeare or the simple poem of a child, every now and again we feel the raw ends of art connect, and we experience a transcendent beauty for those few moments.

Perhaps it is said better with a quote from Dr. Keating in Dead Poets Society.

“We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”