Friday, November 11, 2016

We need good art.

What a week.


Do you wanna destroy shit? Because I think I'd really like to destroy shit. What, exactly, I don't know.

I've had a very hard time thinking about what I would write today. I had some really different ideas about where we'd be today when I was trying to plan my blog on Monday.

What a week.

I see a lot of my creative friends in different stages of anger and despair, and I feel it, too. I've seen people joke that "at least we'll get good art out of this," and I hope they are right, even if I think the joke is a little crass. If you're like me, the stunner this week has left you wondering what you can do, and there's no shortage of suggestions on the web right now - so I won't bother telling you where to volunteer or send money - I'm just going to ask you - no, beg you - to keep making art. Keep writing. Write your ass off. Put your heart and soul into it and make good fiction. Keep the gears moving and put something in front of people that moves them.

Because anyone who doesn't understand what fiction can do (and maybe especially crime fiction) isn't paying attention. Empathy isn't something we are born with. We learn how to interact with people, we learn how to relate to each other, we learn how to read and process others' emotions. If you put a book in front of someone who doesn't think much about what it's like to be poor, to be a junkie, to be black, to be gay, to be in a hopeless situation - you have the opportunity to open their minds.

We need good art. We needed it last week and we need it this week - and we're never going to stop needing. So go make it.

Please.

3 comments:

Art Taylor said...

Great post, Renee. This resonates: "If you put a book in front of someone who doesn't think much about what it's like to be poor, to be a junkie, to be black, to be gay, to be in a hopeless situation - you have the opportunity to open their minds."

Renee Asher Pickup said...

I hope that we're thinking about that when we write, you know? I hope we understand the power inherent in that and take it seriously.

Kristi said...

Yes, yes, yes!