I am going to be tackling two subjects in this article I think is crucial for our art and even our lives.
So, let’s get started!
(Subject one)
Winning and losing is all relevant –
As the title says ‘winning and losing is all relevant’ – you need to be rejected over and over again because, it will let you realise and remind you that you need more work. But when you do win and they start to accept you… enjoy it, but move on from that and continue to work even harder, even harder than before!
Personally, I have been rejected thousands of times and I laugh at it because it is all a part of the process. Once you get to that point you have fucking made it! You see, writing isn’t about being successful – it is ‘a way of life’ and when you get to that point you have fucking made it again! I don’t care about rejections and I don’t even care about being accepted either – it is just a way of life for me – and if I wasn’t being a part of it every day then I wouldn’t feel right – and you need to get to that point as well.
My mum said to me recently ‘it is so great you are at that point now and it must feel so liberating to not give a shit anymore’ and she is right (like all mothers are ha ha).
I spoke to a young woman recently at an online art exhibition ran by the Bluebell Arts based in the city of Derry and she was talking about being scared and frightened of rejection and I told her if she didn’t put herself out there she would never know the outcome. You’ll be surprised how far your work may go when you put it out there (I know I was and I know she and you will be too). So, go for it – you really have nothing to lose!
Let me put it this way: a dull and damp rejection is not going to kill you, but if you hold it back and you don’t go with the flow – that will fucking kill you. Again, you have NOTHING to lose!
(Subject two)
Real life into your art and art into your real life –
Your real life experiences should be in your art. Whatever that art form may be, because that is who you really are and it will be original and being original is the key. And your art should be in your real life. I am mostly a poet and I walk and talk like a poet in my real life.
I remember when I lost my virginity. It was on a beach in Estonia with a full moon shining down on us. And like a fellow poet said to me at a party one night… “That sounds like a god-damn fucking poem in itself.”
I know there is a lot of artists out there that like to use their imagination, but if you are like me and many other artists out there you are looking for truth and by writing what you know (as the saying goes) you need to grab your own experiences and use them to create your own art!
Kinda like extraction!
When you become your art in your life you will change drastically with the way you look and portray yourself to those closest to you in your life, but it will be worth it because you are now truth!
When I was a skater I was a skinny little fucker and when I trained I was a muscular little fucker and when I became a writer I became fat, hairy, ugly and unkempt because all I cared about was sitting here drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes and typing these words until my hands and fingers got sore and started bleeding my own truth!
But by god it has been worth it – even though my health has got worse – I wouldn’t change it and neither should you!
I’m leaving you with two poems to do with ‘truth’ and ‘rejection’ and I hope you enjoy, or not!
Remember: an artist is just out to create art no matter the cost!
Love
PBJ
<3
(Poem one)
Nakedness is pure truth
The thing I love about nakedness
It is truth and honesty rolled into one
There is no bullshit
As sure as a light will show you
A way when you’re lost
Like the pages of a poets book
Brightened up by our moon
(Poem two)
Determined failure
This cigarette
Is
Determined
To fail
Why try
This poem
Comes
From failure
Why try
She doesn’t
Vomit rainbows
But
Her smile
Can tell a thousand tears
I am
You are
Everyone
Is determined
To fail
Why try
But
Like the cigarette
It’s all about
How
It
BURNS