“The job clearly makes no sense from any practical point of view. It only intermittently satisfies ordinary longings for security and status. Trying to tie writing talent to a mortgage is like trying to connect a bicycle to the national power grid. And the financial anxiety is aggravated by the element of chance that lurks behind the birth of masterpieces—you never know when your luck will be in and when it will be out. It is one thing to be poor and convinced of the worth of one’s work; quite another to combine poverty with the sinking sensation of a book not going well.”—Alain de Botton in the SMH Magazine, Issue 37, May 06
yes, but i went to hear orhan pamuk, the turkish writer of my name is red and snow* talk last night. [i didn’t like it much, but that’s another story.]
Orhan thought he wanted to be a painter from the ages of 18-22. so he lived with his divorced mother in istanbul, painting.
when he was 22, he decided to be a novelist. so he continued to live with his divorced mother and write novels. and hang out in cafes, from what i can tell, but other little income-acquirement, from what i could tell. and he spent the next eight years living off his mother, before he published a book.
and we all know what income a first novel brings in.
and i wanted to say, get a job?
but Pamuk talked only of turkish men and western men who write — the only time he ever mentioned “women” was when he talked about the scarved women on the streets of Istanbul, and how Western Men are always interested in them.
oh, and how he wrote novels because of the aunt who told him “don’t break your toys.” so now he can break the toys all he wanted.
and then talked in general terms about “human rights” and the necessity of freedom of speech and noble things.
but come on — we’re all here in new york city, at a lecture for PEN on freedom of speech, as part of a world voices community, at the cooper union. we lined up for an hour to get decent seats. you’re preaching to the choir, here. you dont’ have to tell us that it’s necessary.
so .. i don’t know. i have independence issues.
but hey, i’m an agent. all i can think of is waiting all those years to drag the book out of him.
everybody else seemed to sigh and say wow, eight years before you finally sold a novel.
you poor struggling thing.
i wanted to say “eight years before you learned to write well enough to sell a novel.”
but no. when margaret atwood responded to this, she said “yes, me too, that agony of the first novel rejections. of course i was devastated at the time, but i realizes how bad it was now!
i mean, english isn’t his first language. but still, he seemed pretty okay with having eloborate conversations. and his books are supposed to be translated from the Turkish beautifully.
but it made me glad i hadn’t been able to purchase my name is red as i’d planned to, because i really didn’t want to read it anymore.
—
*ok this is a justine blog, and i can admit i wrote this as “snot,” sniggered, and considered leaving it there. but i actually had something to say, so here. snigger.
Shana: I would be all condemnatory a la “He bludged off his parents for years and years and that’s how he got to write and he’s trying to make it sound noble!” Except that I, um, was still living at home at a rather advance age and thus am not in a stone casting position.
His sexism though. Erk.
DeborahB: Thought you might like it.
This may not be where I am supposed to post this, but when is the paperback of Magic Lessons coming out?
Thanks!
Alex: This is exactly the right place for such a question.
The US paperback of Magic Lessons will be out in March 2007 (at the same time as the hardcover of the third book in the trilogy). The Australian paperback will be out this September.
It is one thing to be poor and convinced of the worth of one’s work; quite another to combine poverty with the sinking sensation of a book not going well.
at what advanced age, though? and presumably you were working on that advanced degree thing, dr. l?
I am too embarrassed to say. But, yes, I was collectinig degrees (and writng novels!).
Thanks! I just finished reading Magic or Madness and enjoyed it. Our school displays new books promptly on the front shelf, and I often choose one or two to read. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten Magic Lessons yet. I saw it in a book store, bur it was hardcover… Well, I can wait. Or just go to a library.
Thanks again!