it lifts you up, it sets you down

I’m very slowly reading through This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett, and have been going particularly slowly through the chapter/essay titled “The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir about Writing and Life.” There are, as I suppose would be expected, very many good bits of practical advice about writing, and indeed, life.

It’s nice reading Ann Patchett’s work. It’s the type of creative work that makes you want to do your own creative work, which I think is just about the best type of creative work there is. There are some great artists who make their art and leave me feeling sad, hopeless, and hollow, exiting the gig thinking “I will never be able to do that,” and there are some great artists who make their art and make me feel so hopeful and determined that all I want to do is go and Do A Thing - write a song, paint a painting, make a really delicious dinner, etc. (I’m speaking, of course, generally about music and musicians, but since it applies to Ann Patchett as well, we might as well say it’s just about art, man.)

I also like how… well, how practical her writing is. You can tell she’s got a good head on her shoulders, Patchett. I’m not sure if it makes me feel seen or inspired; maybe both. It’s always nice seeing someone do something you admire, and to see them do it well; it makes you feel less alone, I think.

Maybe that’s the point of songwriting. Of making art. Feeling less alone, in general.

Okay, not the point. One of the many points. But perhaps a big one for me.

I’ve called it “communication” in the past. But perhaps “communion” is a better word. They both derive from the Latin communis, which is to share, to impart; to make common. That’s what feeling less alone is, isn’t it? Sharing your experience. Realising it’s something lots of people can relate to. That it’s something that starts out feeling rarified but soon becomes something made common.