WRITING IN WHITE ROCK, BC

A writer's daily struggle for focus, authenticity, and joy

Jeanne Ainslie

Graffiti from the ladies washroom at the Cuban Cafe on Commercial Drive, Vancouver BC:
"Unnerved by you, I fall endlessly, recklessly, colliding with stars, planets & old dreams hung in the sky I like a meteor I die every black night G.S."

These are gems--the unexpected voice of a stranger compelled to announce her passion to the world. Isn't this what we writers, artists, musicians, and yes, scientists do everyday? But first one has to fall in love--fall in love with the discovery of ideas and their expression, which can be paint, words, objects, sounds. Creativity of the artist is a ritual enactment of birth. First you see the scene, hear the voice and have a compelling desire to express this to the world. And to give birth, we struggle, go broke, fall into despair, start again and again because for some reason that we don't understand, this is what we want to do, must do, and nothing else will satisfy.