Every now and then, when overdosing on momentary angst about a poem that I'm gestating, I find it's worth reminding myself of my own version of an old Spanish saying that we often repeat while at the office: no vivas para trabajar, trabaja para vivir...don't live to work, work to live.
From my perspective, a similar attitude to the blank page is extremely useful. Writing poetry makes me feel more alive and awake to experiences and feelings. In other words, as the title of this post indicates, my attitude is clear: don't live to write, write to live.
Sara Maitland, True North, Selected Stories, Comma Press, 2024 £14.99,
available to buy here. Among post-war British writers, few can justifiably
claim to ...
'Life isn’t a support-system for art. It’s the other way around.' Stephen King -- from On Writing.
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