For many of us, deciding to go it alone with our artistic pursuits feels like a necessity. Others around us just don’t seem to have the initiative; and, it felt like we needed to take a proactive stance towards what we wanted to do for a living. We decide we didn’t need others and took the long road towards “progress” entirely by ourselves.
But, then we discover that this type of road leads to little or no real rewards. We realize, a subtle truth, that we do need others to make it work.
We especially need others in our artistic pursuits. We can’t be the lone wolf, all the time, and survive in these at times unappreciative and misunderstood lonely creative woods.
After all, wolves hunt in packs and artists thrive with more artists by their side.
There are times during our struggle, that we need to use our own initiative; but, without help from others our work often hears the silent whistle in the woods of little progress.
There are many different communities one can be a part of. An important questions is simple. What artistic passion do you pursue?
Poets find places to connect and write or read work together. On example is a place called Caffeine Corridor. It is an open mic venue where many well-known poets meet to read their work.
They build their community of support and provide a venue. This can be a place that help poets find other venues and promote their own work.
How important is community in the poetic realm? Here are a couple of comments:
Bernard Schroeber (author and shark enthusiast) says referring to making an impact and especially making a living at it: But I would say for those I know who make their sole living off of writing, and who don’t have a patron or a spouse who keeps them afloat… I would say community is vital. That it’s not possible, at least on the poetry circuit, to survive without people helping you in the community. Booking you shows, turning you on to submission periods or residency applications, to getting your work out there in the wilderness.
Jake Friedman owner of Four Chamber Press adds: I think success is legitimately impossible without a community (as someone’s advancement in a social, cultural, or economic space is necessarily a measure of their recognition by that community).
Film is also a community where actors, directors, cinematographers and other film crew need to help each other. Films are most definitely a collaborative effort.
It is especially essential in the independent film community for everyone involved to ban together…
Continue reading the article and learn more about artists on Life Is An Episode website.
