They say,
“An uneducated man could
never have written that”
So instead of a human
touched by God
an immortal
sweating at the desk
and onstage
who closed
real estate deals
in his spare time
Shakespeare
is rewritten as a
wealthy and
overprivileged
de Vere in the
pages of
literary
history
There are many
fictions like this
both ancient and
contemporary
As if creativity
were to be obtained
and unloaded
only within the
impregnable walls
of
Harvard
Yale
Cambridge
and
The Sorbonne
Bullshit
The entire world
stands open-mouthed
before art mostly
born in brothels
construction sites
and insurance offices
from Calcutta
to California
If you want to
step into this line
practice it
Do it only because
you must
Do it only because
without it
you will
die
Do not waste time
chasing the
calligraphic page
bearing your name
handed to you
by the administrator
of the consecrated
institution
Though it propel
your career
and prompt reverence
in the easily
impressed
it will only have
damaged
the work
and kept
the red blood
safely inside
your skin
Art is not found
in the dabbling of a
dilettante
Your lack
is another’s
hope
another’s
mirror
It is powerful
It is lonely
It is no respecter
of men
It is a
rare
courageous
thing to
mount it
fast
and
fire
often
_________________________________________
“Where in the wide history of the world do we find art created
by the excessively wealthy, powerful, or educated?”
— David Mamet
13 responses so far ↓
1 jancartier | 18 Feb 2008
“It is a rare and courageous thing to mount it fast and fire often.”
This is going into the studio with me…loved this poem.
All best, Jan
2 Pieter | 18 Feb 2008
So true….
First time i added my mail too recieve your poems.
And then you write this
this….
You have writen so directly to me in this poem
Really Loved it
Greetings and a big thank you
Pieter
3 Robert Bruce | 18 Feb 2008
Jan - And remember the pen ;)
4 Robert Bruce | 18 Feb 2008
Pieter - Thanks for coming around man, glad you saw something in it.
5 julie | 18 Feb 2008
I loved this and needed to hear it today. Thank you friend.
6 Robert Bruce | 18 Feb 2008
julie - You are so welcome my sister.
7 potterspoet | 18 Feb 2008
a mirror, huh? i can see that. loved it:)
8 Robert Bruce | 18 Feb 2008
pp - Yeah, I’ve found that folks relate to epic failures more than successes…
9 Magnus | 21 Feb 2008
strips academia of so much pretension and authority. love it. what a sad idea that learning and creation end for some when school is done or never started because institutions drove it out of them and made learning and creation painful. it would be better for me to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around my neck than stamp out the thirst and fire for creation and learning in my students. both should be pleasurable and natural..
Thanks
10 Robert Bruce | 22 Feb 2008
Magnus - Somehow, I doubt you’re stamping anything out of your students man…
11 Magnus | 22 Feb 2008
thanks - I care more about what they will remember when they forget everything.
12 Jessica Doyle | 26 Mar 2008
These words sooth my aching shoulders and hands today Robert. I’ve been breathing in centuries old plaster, scraping, sanding and thus sneezing out the years of neglect within an old homestead in the northern most part of the city.
The walls begin speaking to you, you know.
I am glad you are here.
:)
13 Alex | 23 May 2008
Thankyou Robert.
Have Your Say...