On Creativity

Plus, teen subcultures, Great American Novels, Books in the City, and The Weekly What

Last week

Katy O.

noted her 5 favorite newsletters are all written by creators without traditional 9-5 jobs. She considered whether this lent something to why she was drawn to them and asked why/if she should bother comparing herself to creators like this, ultimately arriving at the conclusion she creates for her own satisfaction and shouldn’t be concerned with how she measures up.

For the record, I don’t think we should bother comparing ourselves to others (joy thief, and all that) though I do understand the constant compulsion to do so, especially in a landscape uniquely suited for it. I also happen to think a factor in why those newsletters are so good are because they are written by creators with the freedom to be create.

Now, I’m not saying one must be a full-time creator or have tons of free time in order to create, of course not, but creativity does benefit from space to bloom and time is the ultimate freedom; a privilege unknown by many. Creativity is a privilege, or at least we view it as such. I think this is likely a piece of the puzzle that adds up to the modern Hellscape we call life (and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible, of course.) Creativity is such an important nourishment for a well lived life.

I’ve been talking about books on the internet for at least 15 years at this point in some form or another, but it took me years to come around to jumping onto Bookstagram because I knew it would end up requiring me to show up in a different way (granted this is a completely arbitrary pressure, but trust, I know myself) and I worried it might have a negative effect on my most beloved hobby.

3+ years later, being a bookstagrammer has had a range of effects on my reading hobby. The benefits still outweigh the negatives, for now at least, though it does require a level of intentionality to afford this balance. I often question whether this effort is worthwhile.

I come from a line of creatives. My great grandfather was a doctor who owned his own practice and an oil painter. My grandfather, his son, was also a doctor and a photographer. My grandmother did not work outside the home, because that was the only real option available to her in the 50s/60s, something she’s never been shy of pointing out. She paints with acrylics and watercolors, crochets, and is an excellent seamstress and piano player, the latter two artistic pursuits she has monetized at points in her life.

I think about the way these creative ancestors of mine pursued art purely because it brought them joy. To them it was a hobby and the creating was the point. They didn’t look outside of the art for affirmation from others to make it mean something. My grandmother didn’t begin sewing dresses or playing the piano to make money, she needed the money so she utilized the skills available to her to get it. She creates and paints and plays because it’s something she enjoys doing.

I think this is true for everyone, but especially as a mother I recognize the importance of having something just for yourself, something that fulfills you outside of your family, something you do simply for pleasure, even if it must be tended to around everything else that demands your primary attention.

Increasingly the only measure of value is money. We’re expected to monetize anything of value as if the doing, the experience, isn’t the point. What matters is whether others see value in what you’re doing, whether they’re able to convert that value into dollars paid. I totally understand the allure (or necessity!) of being paid for your craft, there are certainly undeniable perks, though there are impacts as well: as soon as you rely on the income for doing something, even something you enjoy, it’s no longer purely a hobby, it’s a job.

Now more than ever I feel the importance in protecting things we pursue simply for pleasure. To hold the pleasure, the process, the act, alone as valuable, something that doesn’t need outside approval of others in order to have worth. In a society obsessed with money and performance, living beyond those factors is real freedom.

---

Tell me:

• How do you feel social media impacts creativity?

• Do you think being creative is important to a happy life?

• How are you creative?

• Anything, let’s chat!

What I’m…

Reading

• Beautyland by Marie Helen-Bertino. Humanity as viewed through the eyes of someone who feels alien, or may be one. I quite liked this though I’m not sure its one that will really stay with me.

• Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. Scouts from an Indigenous group explore what’s left of the world more than a decade after the lights go out. Book 2 in the series though it can be read as a stand alone.

• Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman. A nuanced novel of the lives of low wage retail workers. Same as above, liked though not hugely impactful.

Listening

• Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering. Toxic female friendship across decades. Just ok.

• The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta. Endlessly interesting, perplexing, and horrifying. Obama convinced me to pick this up.

Watching

• Love Is Blind (Netflix). Finished, including the reunion. I’ll never tire of this social experiment.

• Oppenheimer (Max). Watched Saturday night to prepare for the Academy Awards. I liked it, I thought it well done, I’m not surprised it won best picture. It was also very long. It didn’t need to be so long, but who am I to say?!

• Poor Things (Hulu). What a weird moving! In a good way. But weird. I can see why Emma Stone won Best Actress.

Eating & Drinking

• A snowy Sunday called for Classic Chili (I omit the oil and bell pepper, only use 1 lb of ground meat, add a can of pinto beans, and 6oz of tomato paste, but this is basically the recipe I make) and Corn Muffins.

• Breakfast for dinner on a Monday = leftovers for breakfast for the rest of the week - win! I made Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast Casserole and Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes.

• I used the Sheet Pan Quesadilla method to make Crunchwraps - queso, taco meat + black beans, tostadas, shredded cheese. We topped them with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, and taco sauce. They were good, but not as good as when I make individual Crunchwraps, the texture wasn’t quite there.

• Cheeseburger Pie for Pi Day

Links + Loves

• Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist; I meant to include this last week!

• And my favorite prize list announced their finalists.

• The American Library Association reports book bans and challenges soared in 2023.

• The Atlantic along with a team of experts attempt to define the American literary canon with a list of The Great American Novels of the last 100 years. This makes me want to read them all!

• Teen Subcultures Are Fading.

• How Does a Book End Up in And Just Like That...? I know I’m not the only one who has wondered or tried to figure out what books the SATC ladies are reading!

---

That’s it for this week’s Weekly What! If you enjoy my rambles please consider subscribing, sharing, liking, or recommending to a friend.

Some of the links I share are affiliate links. If you make a purchase I may earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting my work in this way.

Until next time!