Water Lilies and Revisions
Author Anna DeStefano wrote a beautiful essay today about Monet's Water Lilies and the artist's creative process at the end of his life. Thomas Carlyle wrote, "Genius is the infinite capacity for taking pains," and I need to remember this right now. I am deep in the revision thickets for LADY LAZARUS, and I usually get lost inside the tangle of my own mind at this point in the process.
My brother reminded me on the phone today that I love this story, and that the revision process is a chance to "re-vision" it, to manifest the book in my mind more clearly. But this book also scares the crap out of me on a regular basis -- I guess that means the more it scares me during revisions, the closer I'm getting to the book's truth. And sometimes the truth takes courage, or at least stubbornness.
So, anyway, go read Anna DeStefano's post -- you''ll love it too!
