artist life

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BlogKIS.listartist life // Clarion West // fear // Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art // Gail Raborn // imposter // novel // novel writing // Race // Stephen Nachmanovitch // surrender // writing life // writing struggles

Vol. 50, Surrendering the Ego

Posted on 15 August 2005

Brooklyn, NY I’ve been tricked, had, hoodwinked, bamboozled. After years—10 to be exact—of working on the same high-concept novel, I have somehow been convinced to start working on a whole new novel. That’s right, completely new—from scratch! I remember when I was at Clarion West, one of our teachers—Jack Womack, told us that learning how… »

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BlogKIS.listartist life // author appearances // author readings // career // development // growth // Promotion // rejection/acceptance o'meter // self representation // writer's life

Vol. 42, The Value of Reading Publicly

Posted on 14 April 2004

Brooklyn, NY Recently a friend was writing an essay on the relationship between authors and public readings. “Why,” he asked, “is it important for writers to read their work?” It is an interesting question because writing—unlike the performing arts—doesn’t really need to be performed to be enjoyed by others. For dancers, actors, singers, and musicians,… »

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BlogKIS.listartist life // career // earning money // faith // making a living // novel // publishing // rejection // sarah pemberton strong // writing struggles

Vol. 41, Claiming It

Posted on 11 March 2004

Brooklyn, NY As I find myself mired in my perpetual 9-to-5 depression and overwhelmed by the lack of brain space to successfully ponder the distinctions between genres, the secrets of various writing processes, the difficulties of artist development and the importance of craft; I’m just plain exhausted. Under the oppression of this malaise, my thoughts… »

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BlogKIS.listaging yourself // artist life // asante salaam // growth // janet jackson // lynn pitts // moving // Race // seduction // self support // superbowl

Vol. 40, How Old Are You?

Posted on 6 February 2004

Brooklyn, NY Recently, I was reading over a statement I wrote for admission into graduate school and I noticed a mistake that revealed a larger issue of faulty artist self-definition. The first three lines of the statement read: “My writer self is 12 years old. I emerged as a writer in 1991 when I wrote… »

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BlogKIS.listartist life // Feminism // struggles // The Fisherwoman's Daughter // ursula K. leguin // virginia Woolf // woman artists

Vol. 39, The Fisherwoman’s Daughter by Ursula K. LeGuin

Posted on 1 January 2004

Just last month I was wondering if it was time to throw in the towel on the KIS.list. Reader interest remains strong, but after my first month back to a fulltime 9-to-5, I didn’t think I could hack it. Then suddenly space cleared, I wrote the KIS.list and sent it out. I was thinking mothering,… »

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BlogKIS.listadvice // artist life // ego // how to keep going // inspiration // rejection/acceptance o'meter // rejections // staying committed // staying inspired // struggles // what is art

Vol. 38, Crisis of Faith

Posted on 4 December 2003

New York Recently three people close to me were going through crises of faith. I believe crises of faith are intrinsic to artistic (and human) growth. Usually, a crisis is brought on when something is not the way we expected it to be. Your friend or partner shows her/himself to be completely different from who… »

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BlogKIS.listartist life // artist sruggles // Build Your Own Life Brand // career // identity // Oprah // rejection // rejection/acceptance o'meter // Self-promotion // Stanley Nelson // Stedman Graham

Vol. 37, Building Your Life Brand

Posted on 29 September 2003

My coworker was recently reading Stedman Graham’s Build Your Own Life Brand! She is eventually interested in opening her own day spa and found it helpful in the work she was doing. She passed it on to me and I’ve been finding it instructive in helping me focus my goals. Every time I mention I’m… »

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BlogKIS.listartist life // class // inspiration // language // reading // reading race // rejection // rejection/acceptance o'meter // writing life

Vol. 29, Keeping It Real

Posted on 24 November 2002

Thoughts on Artistic Expression I was recently, once again, in discussion with my father about the students in his high school video production workshop. He teaches one segment to a student body in an impoverished high school and another in a more privileged magnet school. He mentioned that his students at the poorer school had… »

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BlogKIS.listartist life // the writing life // writing advice // writing struggles

Vol. 28, Administration vs. Play/Art

Posted on 1 October 2002

Conversations with Artists and Myself I was talking to my father recently about a video program he teaches to New Orleans public high school students. One of the program’s administrators had to relocate at the last minute, so my father stepped in as administrator. I asked him how administrating was going and he said it… »

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BlogKIS.listartist life // artist philosophy // balance // Clarion West // difference between making art and making money // earning money // honesty // K. Ibura // KIS.list // living off art // mindset // money and art // pathway for income // success // supporting self // writing life // writing struggles

Vol. 13, Money and Art

Posted on 2 December 2001

Email Conversations with a Writer Friend New York, NY I’d noticed one writer friend constantly complaining about money. On stage, in private, whenever conversations about her work came up, one of her responses would be “Yeah, well, I ain’t got no money.” Her disgruntledness made me uncomfortable. I’ll have to excavate (as another friend says… »

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