19 April 2005
"Throwing away a perfectly good white boy..."
Elodie Lauten wreaks havok with her wonderfully depressing question to fringe composers: Are we better off dead?
Responded quickly by Beth Anderson who replies (kindly) I’m not willing to stop composing just because the world isn’t paying me for it. And she isn’t either, even though she has not yet discovered the logic to support her activities.
And finally by Corey Dargel who points out (one of the few truisms that constantly needs to be pointed out) We keep composing because we can’t not compose.
An image my painting teacher always used, and one that I will always remember, he stole from the opening lines of Blake's "The Tiger." We can't stop, because there's something in us that's burning and keeping us illuminated. The religious connotations of Blake's lines parallel Corey's observations that [art's] primary value lies in the spiritual realm.
I've often said this--perhaps too often, and perhaps too drunk--to friends. I guess it might be annoying if it wasn't coming from such an atheist.
That being said, I don't think Elodie gets enough credit for her observations. It's wonderful to really enjoy striving to realize what's in you, but the need for others' acceptance shouldn't be ignored.
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