Steven Pressfield:

If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.

The War of Art, p. 165

Jens Lekman:

The beauty of the collage technique is that you’re using sounds that have never met and were never supposed to meet. You introduce them to each other, at first they’re a bit shy, clumsy, staring at their shoes. But you can sense there’s something there. So you cut and paste a little bit and by the end of the song you can spot them in the corner, holding hands.

David Bayles & Ted Orland:

It's easy to imagine that real artists know what they're doing, and that they -- unlike you -- are entitled to feel good about themselves and their art. Fear that you are not a real artist causes you to undervalue your work.

Art & Fear, p. 24

Hugh MacLeod:

Is your plan unique? Is there nobody else doing it? Then I'd be excited. A little scared, maybe, but excited.

Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity, p. 50

Steven Pressfield:

We were put here on earth to act as agents of the Infinite, to bring into existence that which is not yet, but which will be, through us.

The War of Art, p. 161-162

William S. Burroughs:

All writing is in fact cut-ups. A collage of words read heard overheard. What else?

Lewis Hyde:

Most artists are brought to their vocation when their own nascent gifts are awakened by the work of a master. That is to say, most artists are converted to art by art itself. Finding one’s voice isn’t just an emptying and purifying oneself of the words of others but an adopting and embracing of filiations, communities, and discourses. Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced.

David Bayles & Ted Orland:

The fear that you're only pretending to do art is the (readily predictable) consequence of doubting your own artistic credentials.

Art & Fear, p. 24

Hugh MacLeod:

Your plan for getting your work out there has to be as original as the actual work, perhaps even more so. The work has to create a totally new market.

Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity, p. 48

Steven Pressfield:

The artist and the mother are vehicles, not originators. They don't create the new life, they only bear it. This is why birth is such a humbling experience. The new mom weeps in awe at the little miracle in her arms. She knows it came out of her but not from her, through her but not of her.

The War of Art, p. 156

Mary Pipher:

That is our challenge: To cultivate lives of reflection, love, and joy and still somehow manage to do our share for this beautiful broken planet of ours.

Writing to Change the World, p. 242

David Bayles & Ted Orland:

In a general way, fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception by others prevent you from doing your own work.

Art & Fear, p. 23

Hugh MacLeod:

You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don't make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness.

Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity, p. 39

Maya Angelou:

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Amy to Perform at Women's Work

Amy will be sharing some of her poetry this Sunday at the fourth annual Women's Work festival. Come and enjoy an evening of original poetry and spoken word presented by women wordsmiths.

Sunday, May 9, at 5:30 p.m.
Z. Alexander Looby Theater
Looby Branch Library
2301 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.
Nashville, TN
$5

For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit Tennessee Women's Theater Project online.

Steven Pressfield:

To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.

The War of Art, p. 151

Mary Pipher:

Writing can be love made visible. In the end, one of the best ways to truly change readers is to love them.

Writing to Change the World, p. 241

David Bayles & Ted Orland:

…most artists don't daydream about making great art -- they daydream about having made great art.

Art & Fear, p. 17

Stanley Kunitz:

The poem in the head is always perfect. Resistance begins when you try to convert it into language.