Seeing Elizabeth Gilbert

Via Elizabeth Gilbert's website: 

 As the great poet Jack Gilbert said once to young writer, when she 
asked him for advice about her own poems: “Do you have the courage to 
bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside you are 
hoping you will say YES.”

Good luck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The Summer Day
- 1990 

  Who made the world? 
  Who made the swan, and the black bear? 
  Who made the grasshopper? 
  This grasshopper, I mean-- 
  the one who has flung herself out of the grass, 
  the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, 
  who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-- 
  who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. 
  Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. 
  Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. 
  I don't know exactly what a prayer is. 
  I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down 
  into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, 
  how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, 
  which is what I have been doing all day. 
  Tell me, what else should I have done? 
  Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? 
  Tell me, what is it you plan to do 
  with your one wild and precious life? 

I had the pleasure of seeing the amazingly talented writer, Elizabeth Gilbert, or "Liz" as the fans (and herself as well) call her.

She spoke for about 40 minutes and took questions. She has this crazy radiating glow about her.  She is one of the genuinely happiest, open and humble people ever!!! She seemed so natural talking about her book, the inspiration for it, the research process, writing process and so human! She is just like us, she just works her ass off and achieves her goals through this brilliant psyche she's seemed to be growing for 40+ years. I hope I am as lucky to be so wise and happy at her age.




Take-aways I had from her talking about the writing process:

• She writes from 5am-11am, "before the world catches you." She explained everything and every emergency seems to happen by 11am.  
• She recommended for a young unestablished writer to be disciplined. write everyday, to the point if you don't write for a day, you feel like something is missing. 
• The creative process - be open to it.  Some days you may write nothing that is good. But you must soldier through those days - b/c those phases are apart of the process
• Give yourself presents during a writing project. If you finish you goal of writing x amount of words that day, reward yourself with something.
• She does work in seasons. She Finds inspiration in Fall, Research in Spring, Summer writes - for example.
• When she was younger and new at writing she wrote for whatever. She now has the freedom to write one her own schedule, project basis. 
• Be your own Editor.
• Have your trust worthy loving friends edit your stuff, NOT your enemies or mean people. 
• Create a writing circle of friends whom you share your work with. 
• She quoted this poem by Sharon Olds to explain how she feels when she is FINALLY done and sends the book to print. She was saying you can do your very best but there comes a point when you have to let it go and be the book it is going to be. Kinda like a child:

Poem: "The Summer-Camp Bus Pulls Away from the Curb," by Sharon Olds fromBlood, Tin, Straw (Alfred A. Knopf)

• The Summer-Camp Bus Pulls Away from the Curb
  

  Whatever he needs, he has or doesn't
  have by now.
  Whatever the world is going to do to him
  it has started to do. With a pencil and two
  Hardy Boys and a peanut butter sandwich and
  grapes he is on his way, there is nothing
  more we can do for him. Whatever is
  stored in his heart, he can use, now.
  Whatever he has laid up in his mind
  he can call on. What he does not have
  he can lack. The bus gets smaller and smaller, as one
  folds a flag at the end of a ceremony,
  onto itself, and onto itself, until
  only a heavy wedge remains.
  Whatever his exuberant soul
  can do for him, it is doing right now.
  Whatever his arrogance can do
  it is doing to him. Everything
  that's been done to him, he will now do.
  Everything that's been placed in him
  will come out, now, the contents of a trunk
  unpacked and lined up on a bunk in the underpine light.

Take-aways I had from her talking about life:

• Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?  - She quoted poet, Mary Oliver, at one point. I believe it was when she was talking about professions, passions. She was clear to point out that we have one go-around - and we might as well make it the best damn time and try our hardest to live the life we envision for ourselves in our heads. She also said no one is going to "knock on your door and say, 'oh excuse me? i heard there is a brilliant unpublished author living here?" You must work and submit and never give up. 
• Women have two huge things that bombard us in this world - self esteem and self rejection. We not only are hard one our looks, but we also do not do things b/c we think we will fail. 
• "Let your creativity be stronger than your fear" - powerful. 
• She is still in a blissful partnership w/ Phillipe. 
• She owns a bookstore in the town she lives in.
• She supports her fellow writers and women!!!

The ultimate take-away was that i need to continue working on my writing and feed my creative spirit! Because that is what makes me my authentic self and most happy.