Endless Inspiration

So the poetry book is off to the editor for touch-up's here and there. Photo shoots are lined up for next week where we'll get started on the artwork. There's nothing more I can do for the poetry project at the moment. So I sat down with a new book this morning. It's a book about writing your life as story. It's a book about the history and evolution of Memoir (a.k.a. the New Autobiography). It's fabulous. And I found this. Something I can come back to time and time again to help remember WHY I'm writing this story. It comes from Martha Graham, written to her student Agnes De Mille, recorded in de Mille's memoir, Dance to the Piper:

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is; nor how valuable it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.

You do not have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive."

Precisely.