This may seem a
little odd, but one discussion that stuck with me during our class was when we
viewed the Kurt Vonnegut manuscripts that consisted of his old class notes and
its various doodles. I know it’s cool to get a glimpse into the working mind of
a great writer, but one thing I couldn’t help but notice was the similarity between Vonnegut’s doodles and my own writings in my class notes. I too am an Anthropology major, and I
love to write in my free time- that’s why I decided to tack on an English major
just last year- and out of boredom I often find myself jotting story lines and
ideas right next to my notes on gracile australopithecines and the difference between etic and emic perspectives. Seeing how familiar
Vonnegut’s notes seemed to my own made me realize that Vonnegut, as well as
other writers we’ve studied, did not start off all that differently from some of
us in terms of writing. In other words, a lot of the writers we've lanalyzed at the Lilly didn’t start out great; they became
great by cultivating their writing and through sheer luck in their success. Am I trying to
suggest that I could write the next Slaughterhouse Five? Of course not- but I
think this realization does put things in perspective. That along with great
writing and talent, comes about 5, 10, or 20 percent that is made up of
condition: the time, the place, working with the right people, targeting the
right audience, and finding that initial inspiration that sparks the backbone
idea of a great work itself. Upon some reflection, I think this class exposes
the ‘luck’ aspect that has gone into these works that I don’t think we consider
in reading for our English classes and reading for fun. In other words, I think
looking at original manuscripts takes the author and the work itself off this
pedestal of greatness we so often create and makes them more relatable- reminding
that these talented people were just- well, people with a talent who were in
the right place at the right time. I think this realization unsettles people in
that it takes the “greats” and makes seem not so perfect after all. This may
rattle some, but I like to be reminded that with the right amount of talent and
a little luck, the idea of creating something worthy of the Lilly doesn’t seem
so impossible after all.
Hey we can dream can't we?
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