In Search of Excellence

ARTISTS (be they writers, poets, painters or musicians) seem to be haunted by a need to continually keep on perfecting (that is in their view) their work through revisions, rewritings and re-examining it from different perspectives. Often this happens long after the work has been published and acclaimed.

Why?

Is it a sign of insecurity, both personally and artistically, or is the obsession (for that is what it frequently amounts to) something much deeper, something that is intrinsic to an artist’s psyche perhaps? Is it a deep need for self-appraisal, confirmation of talent and ability, a pat on his own back, as it were, or is it about something much more sinister, and possibly even dangerous, within their make-up?

I ask the question because, I am prone to this affliction myself, although only to a mild degree, thank goodness. In my case I have files and files of incomplete novels and poems, some going back to when I was quite young and hadn’t been writing for very long. In those days I hoped that by leaving the material for a while and coming back to it at a later date I would, in the meantime, be more developed, both in my writing skills and as a person. Therefore, in theory at least, I would be able to do a better job when I returned to a given piece.

And perhaps that is the very crux of the matter. Artists rework their material time and time again, because they feel that on each occasion they have learnt something new, simply through living from day-to-day, and are able to bring to it something new, fresh and up-to-date. For George Mackay Brown this was certainly the case. It was his belief that his poetry took on its own character and developed over time. I, for one, can see the sense in it and intend to continue to hoard my unfinished work, not only to revive it at some point in the future, but also as a reminder that I am a writer down to the last fibre in my being and creating something beautiful with words is my nature. I am not simply procrastinating from doing other things when I rush to capture a moment’s unexpected inspiration or paper or computer screen with an urgency that some might find puzzling, I am in fact, investing in my future creativity.

17/04/09