It was not until I was 35 that I realized that I was not a good writer, not a writer at all, actually. You see, I had been deluding myself for years. You have the gift, I told myself, the genius, the talent. But then late one night, a dark and stormy night in Chicago, it finally dawned on me: I was a hack.
—Chicago, 2008
2 comments:
"Hack" is an awfully strong word, as is "genius." There is a huge middle ground of giving, talented artists who make you think, feel, respond. You have that kind of gift.
witnessing am i: Thank you for your comment. I just wanted to add a couple of points.
This piece is not meant categorize the writer. It's a declaration of independence, whereby the writer frees himself of his own preconceived notions of success. He is "accepting" himself as he is, if you will. He is marginalizing his own worst critic, himself, so he is free to create, in the most unconditional sense of the word.
The Merriam-Websters dictionary defines "hack" (among other definitions; I picked the ones I want) as:
1: working for hire especially with mediocre professional standards (a hack journalist)
2: performed by, suited to, or characteristic of a hack (hack writing)
3: hackneyed, trite
While "Genius"(again picking here) as:
a: a single strongly marked capacity or aptitude.
And in the end, don't most of us end up as hacks while aspiring for genius?
Post a Comment