ONE
OF THE BEST bumper stickers I've ever seen is this one: The
next time the Air Force wants to buy a bomber, let them hold a bake
sale. FUND EDUCATION. It is beyond tragic that the current administration
believes education is equivalent to passing tests, that it is the means
by which the inherent creativity, mystery, and magic of children's souls
are to be slaughtered by tedium and conformity so as to better prepare
them for unquestioning compliance in a world of corporate concrete and
grayness—not to mention imperialist inanities. Oh-oh. Does someone
have some attitude?
If
you look at a pie chart of the federal budget, you'll see the education
slice cowering in the horrific shadow of the enormous defense slice—well,
slice isn't the right word for what the Pentagon gets. It's more like
the whole damn pie, with education getting a couple of crumbs. I am
just heartbroken to read account after account of school programs in
the arts being dragged, trashed, and deleted. What the hell—let
them play video games, right? There’s some profit in
that. I know teachers who have to spend their own money to buy art supplies
for the kids in their classes! I don’t understand why every parent
in America doesn’t just march on Washington to demand
funding for education.
So,
imagine how happy I was when my twelve-year-old friend Lilah emailed
me to ask if I'd answer some questions for her school project. Lilah
explained that her teacher had asked each student to interview an author
of their choosing. Wow. Give that teacher a prize! Somewhere, the souls
of children are being fed! Here are Lilah's questions and my answers,
expanded for this column. Oh, one last thing: FUND EDUCATION!
Dear
Lilah,
Thank
you so much for choosing to interview me. I am very pleased to be a
part of your project. Below are my answers to your questions. If you
need additional material, don't hesitate to let me know. I will try
to do honor to you and your project. I wish you every success in this
endeavor, by which I mean I hope you will learn, grow, and have fun.
In
case your teacher wants to know, I have published five books, more than
150 articles, and have been included in three anthologies. I haven't
yet been on Oprah, although I am quite famous—if only in my own
mind.
All
the best,
Robert
1. What is the hardest part of being a writer?
For me, the hardest part of being a writer is the solitude and the lack
of immediate feedback from readers. I actually prefer public speaking
to writing, because I am able to interact directly with people and see
how they respond to my ideas and energy. Writing is a solitary activity,
on top of which I often have to write at odd hours of the day and night.
My muses don't seem to care if I'm at the movies, or sleeping, or having
fun with my friends. When it's time to write, it's time to write. But
I've learned to welcome this constant calling to the solitude of my
desk. It’s a good discipline for digging down to discover what's
buried deep within me: hopes and fears, passions and prejudice, bigness
and smallness. And when I dig to a deep enough place, something truly
amazing appears—I’d have to call it my own personal Big
Bang of pure light and creative energy!
I
think it's very important for all people to learn how to be solitary
without suffering from loneliness or sadness. If we can learn to be
comfortable in solitude, if we can be alone without the compulsive need
for distraction or entertainment, we'll discover a courage that will
serve us well throughout our life. Great spiritual people have found
their greatness and wisdom in large measure through solitude.
This
is how we become truly human, isn't it? By looking beneath the surface
of things to where that special magic lies wrapped in mystery is how
we find our soul. Until we find our soul through this deep digging and
exploration, we are not yet human. We become human when we find this
inner thing that, to give it its truest name, is love. So the hard part
of writing is worth it—always.
2.
Do you write with others or by yourself?
I write by myself. I don't like to write with others or even to talk
about a piece I'm working on with others, because I don't want them
to pollute the pond-water of my process with their opinions. I need
only go to the very core of my own self to know what to write. I need
to find my own words to represent my own vision. To find one’s
own vision, one’s own voice, one’s own inner strength is
very important. Too many people have been persuaded to leave their dreams
in the basement of their lives—don’t become one of those
people! I’m sure you’ve seen The Wizard of Oz.
Isn’t that a great example of what happens when people forget
the treasures of courage and heart they have right within themselves?
Writing is just a way to find inner treasures, like traveling to an
inner Land of Oz, and then sharing those found wonders with others in
the form of words.
3.
What is the required education level?
It's really important to understand the true meaning of education. It
means to "develop the innate capacities" and to "stimulate
and develop mental growth." Education really doesn't have "levels";
it's infinite and it goes on throughout one's life if one has the right
mind about it. Education is the process by which you come to learn about
yourself through self-discovery, not through imitation and blind conformity.
Education unlocks your secret desires, your own greatness, your unique
gifts and talents. Education in the truest sense is not really about
memorizing the date on which someone was supposed to have done something.
It’s not about preparing for a career, either—that’s
professional training. There’s nothing wrong with being trained
to do a certain job in the most effective way. In this regard, it’s
good to keep in mind that we also train bears to ride bikes and kangaroos
to box. Education is about becoming a free, creative, powerful, authentic,
compassionate human being who finds her connection to others and her
place in the world through self-knowledge and self-determination—without
impinging on the rights of others to do likewise.
Writers
don't need that much academic education. I think the writer's soul needs
more freedom than schools can offer. Writers need to experience real
life, to meet light and dark at the intersection of fear and courage.
Academically, I have only a high school education, but I've studied
many things on my own and I've had many teachers outside of schools.
I have learned many things from my adventures in living. Writing is
really about discovering one's own authentic voice, values, point of
view and, above all, passion. Never stop learning. Never stop questioning.
Never stop wondering. Be alive, curious, enthusiastic, playful, inventive,
spontaneous, and bold—until your very last breath. Then, whether
you write or not, you’ll be a true human being.
4.
What's your writing schedule like?
My writing schedule changes like the weather in the Swiss Alps: every
few minutes. Some writers have a very rigid discipline. For example,
Earnest Hemingway used to get up and write every day beginning at 5:30
AM. At that time in the morning, I am usually snoring away, dreaming
of being a world-famous soccer player for the Italian national team!
It also depends if I'm working on a book or an article. I don't have
a set schedule. I can sometimes write all day, or sometimes all night.
Sometimes I write a little at a time, and slowly bring a piece into
existence. Other times I work for hours and write a long piece all at
once. A little-known part of writing is actually just living with an
idea, letting it slowly take shape and form in the deep subconscious.
This part of the writing process, for me, doesn't have anything to do
with putting words down. It has to do with allowing all kinds of possibilities
to come into my consciousness. That's why I spend a lot of time just
laying around, kind of dreaming. I'm really letting the piece take shape
in my subconscious mind, and then I just kind of "transcribe"
the words that start coming into my mind from that deep place of quiet
and inspiration. Writing teaches me that waiting—with patience,
openness, and alertness—is in itself a creative action. As an
aside, I’ve noticed that most people don’t know how to wait.
They only know how rush into any damn-fool thing that comes to mind.
Waiting is like sifting through the mind’s silt of nonsense to
find the gold that’s there, gleaming, just a bit deeper down where
only the brave go.
5.
What are some of the major responsibilities?
I think the major responsibility of any writer is to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Of course, it is just their
truth, but nonetheless, one must tell the truth without fear of judgment,
rejection, or anything else. This is why writing is so hard. It requires
a fearlessness that many people don't want to touch. Writing challenges
us to question everything. Writing demands that we never settle into
complacency. Writers are spiritual warriors, in that they are willing
to confront their demons, and also find their ecstasies. One of our
great American poets, Allan Ginsberg, wrote, "The censorship of
language is the censorship of consciousness." Writers can't afford
to censor their words, because they would be censoring their consciousness—which
would be artistic and spiritual suicide. Writers can't be afraid of
what they hear inside themselves; they can't be afraid of saying
anything. Of course, the line between personal freedom and respect
for others (social responsibility) must be walked carefully. I am not
talking about adolescent freedom, but expressive, artistic, and spiritual
freedom. When it's all said and done, we, as writers and as human beings,
must tell the truth—we must find out what that sounds like, what
that feels like, what that tastes like.
Which
leads me to another of a writer’s important responsibilities:
authenticity. Authenticity means to be genuine, and this isn’t
so easy because from about 16 seconds after we’re born, people
are always trying to steal our spirit and squelch our enthusiasms. How
do they do that? By getting us to believe the “official”
story of how it is. There are all kinds of official stories, every institution
has one. Your authenticity rises and falls within you like a sea-swell
in proportion to how much you believe one of the official stories. Writers
have to recognize the way they’ve been tricked into believing
an official story of how things are; then they can drag, trash, and
delete those files from their mind. It’s also true that each of
us creates our own official story of how our life was, is, and will
be. We have to be just as careful not to believe these stories.
6.
Would you recommend being a writer to others? Why or why not?
I would certainly encourage anyone who has the urge to write to pursue
it. Keep in mind that there is a difference between writing, and being
a professional writer. I think everyone should write, if only in a journal,
because the process of writing helps to open up channels of intuition
and creativity and insight. It is especially useful to learn how to
admit one's truth to oneself. Being a professional writer is something
different. It is a life of both great reward and joy, and also great
disappointment and frustration. The distance from writing to being published,
and from being published to making a good living as a writer is a long
trip. But, if one feels called to it, I say GO FOR IT.
7.
What part is the most fun?
The most fun part is when someone tells me or writes to me that something
I wrote really helped them in their life, inspired them in some way,
or helped them to find the courage within themselves to tell their truth.
Another fun part is when I manage to say or write words that have the
feeling of grounded truth, like a three-thousand-year-old redwood or
lone coastal cypress clinging to a cliff. And, of course, I have a lot
of fun talking to kids about writing!
8.
What kind of school subjects would prepare someone for this job?
Typing class!! I'm not kidding. I write on my computer, and I type really
fast. I don't write longhand, like some people. I'd be lost if I didn't
know how to type 90 words a minute. Other than typing (your teacher
is going to kill me!), I think that a broad education is the best. Don't
specialize—unless you want to be an accountant. Let your curiosity
about life lead you to study and learn many things. Open your eyes,
your ears, and your sense of feeling. Learn to observe. Our senses need
our attention to really do their thing. We have to put our heart into
our eyes and ears and hands. See what I mean? Writers have to learn
to be really, really perceptive. We have to pay attention to everything,
and keep an open mind. The subjects that will best prepare you for writing
are subjects you feel drawn to, naturally. Follow your own path and
don't be afraid or let others talk you out of making your life a great
adventure.
9.
What types of books are there to write about?
A writer can only write the kind of book that their creative spirit
wants to write. Don't follow what others have done. Follow your own
path, find your own voice, and develop your own style. Don't be afraid
to be original. Write whatever you want to write.
10.
Who are your role models that are writers?
My role models are any writers who are fearless and tell the truth.
I admire the writers who are unafraid to break with tradition and the
social conventions of their day. When I was a quite a bit younger, I
loved the French symbolist poets like Baudelaire and Rimbaud, because
they used language that was unique and startling, and they made the
reader think of new things. They, like other fearless writers, invite
the reader into new and wondrous worlds of possibilities. They constantly
ask the reader to grow beyond what they already know, and dare to imagine
great new things. I loved Kurt Vonnegut, even though he’s stopped
writing, because his mind is just so ironic and original. I also like
to read the mystics, the spiritual writers, from around the world. I
loved the Sufi poet Rumi and others whose whole purpose in writing is
to discover and express universal truth and shake people awake. Now,
I love to read investigative journalists, people who go behind the official
story to find out what's really going on in our world.
You
should find your own role models; keep on the lookout for people who
inspire you, who encourage you, who support you. Become friends with
those people. Don’t hang with people who put you down or who want
to keep you small.
And,
in conclusion, I want to wish you a thrilling ride through life. Be
a light unto yourself, and a friend unto others.
Oh, and don’t worry about grammar and punctuation. Let the sentences
of your life run on and on. Just roar—let the cosmic roar rip
through you.
©
Robert Rabbin, All Rights Reserved, 2004
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