Guest Post: "What My Writing Teacher Told Me," by Faye Rapoport DesPres, Author of 'Frazier: The Very Special Cat'
Two years ago this December, the creative nonfiction world lost one of its giants: Michael Steinberg, award-winning essayist and founding editor of the literary journal Fourth Genre. Michael was a member of the faculty of the Solstice Creative Writing Program, where I earned my MFA. As writer-in-residence, he reviewed my work and met with me to offer suggestions. We remained colleagues and friends after I graduated. When Mike left us too soon, at the age of 78, I could still hear his voice offering advice about creative nonfiction and the writing life.
Two things Mike told me repeatedly over the years have stayed with me when the writing life gets tough. One was this: talent is great, but hard work and persistence are what more often lead to success. Most writers face a great deal of rejection, and it's those who are willing to “suck up” the tough moments, keep working on their writing, and continue submitting work who have the best chance of getting published. There is no quick and easy road to fulfilling writing dreams, at least not for most of us.
The other thing Mike told me — and I’ve struggled with this at times — is that he saw himself not as a flashy soloist but as “just another voice in the choir.” He felt that his work had contributed just one small piece to a larger puzzle. He didn’t see himself as a literary star.
Those of us who knew Mike and who have read his work might not think that “all” he contributed was a voice that melted into a chorus of other voices. His memoir about a life in amateur baseball, Still Pitching, was called “a stunning debut memoir…a virtuoso performance by a writer of the very first order” by Forward Magazine in 2003. His essays are well-known and are still taught in classrooms today. In fact, I taught one of those essays, “Chin Music,” in numerous classes on writing creative nonfiction.
Still, as my own writing life moves forward, often inch-by-inch and between long stalls, I often think of Mike’s insistence that he was “just a voice in the choir.” For years I thought it pushed against the dream I have had — a dream many writers have — to be recognized as something “special,” to somehow stand out, to be noteworthy.
But therein lies the problem, I think. The desire to be recognized or “seen” by others can lead us down a difficult road towards repeated disappointment. The writing world is hugely competitive, and getting published isn’t easy. Readers’ tastes differ, editors’ tastes differ, and what the literary world as a collective “being” views as important or topical work changes with the times. Prejudices exist. Opinions differ and change. If our goals can only be achieved through recognition provided by others, we are allowing those “others,” whomever they might be, to control our sense of self and accomplishment. That’s never a good idea.
A feeling of true success or pride in our work — or even in ourselves — must come from within. We can’t control whether our work is considered “good” by others or if it ever gets published (unless we publish it ourselves). But we can control, or at least improve, the quality of our work. We can write, take classes, join writing groups, get feedback, and write some more. We practice our craft and do our best, and we can keep putting ourselves out there to see what happens. We can persist. In doing so, maybe we can move or entertain one reader. Maybe we can, in some small way, touch or positively change one life — even if just for a moment.
Choirs are made up by individual voices working together to create something beautiful. Humankind cannot always — perhaps not even often — be credited with contributing something beautiful on this planet. But when it comes to art, music, and literature, we can, as a choir, leave a legacy of beauty and meaning behind.
In that sense, just like Mike, I am happy to be a voice in the choir.
Connect with Faye on the web:
Website: www.fayerapoportdespres.com
Twitter: @FayeRapoDesPres
Instagram: FayeInBoston
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058817963789
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