“It is the mind that makes the body.”
-Sojourner Truth
I’m a lover of books and music makes my brain jive. (As does java, but that’s another story.)
Magazine articles, novels, autobiographies, short fiction, long fiction, nonfiction, I love it all.
We all have our “thing”: photography, creating music, design, art, writing, acting, running, reporting, teaching, parenting.
In each of these – and I would argue, in everything you do – you need inspiration.
Inspiration keeps you engaged and happy. It keeps you at your chosen task even when you’re weary. It provokes new ideas and takes you in directions you may never have imagined.
While I am continuously inspired by fellow photographers – both my contemporaries and predecessors – I also love gleaning inspiration from other media: books, music, paintings, movies, design.
And so today I offer a list of books and music that have my brain a-turning these days.
books…
The Tender Bar, by J.R. Moehringer
This book is very much about boys, and the men they become, and the men who influence that journey. But even as a girl who has no personal insight into what such a journey would be like, I loved it. Moehringer’s memoir, set largely in his hometown’s favorite bar in Manhasset, New York, is written to be accessible to anyone. The narrative is human. I know that sounds strange, but it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a boy, young or old, you can feel your heart beat alongside his through this often sad, but ultimately uplifting and hopeful story.
He struggles, and you feel the turmoil; he succeeds, and you exclaim; he mourns, and you weep. Read it. I bet it will make you think how you would relate your own story.
Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
You know how this book will turn out from the very beginning, because the narrator tells you.
The characters in this story (and you through their eyes) are told by their superiors what purpose they will serve in this science-fiction world, and yet you’re still shocked when that purpose is realized.
Ishiguro is an incredible writer. He tells you where he will go with his story, but still manages to keep you on your toes wondering what will happen. It’s as if someone standing beside you, says, “I’m going that way,” while pointing ahead, and then catches you off guard when she begins walking in that direction.
From Regina Marler’s Amazon.com review: “All children should believe they are special. But the students of Hailsham, an elite school in the English countryside, are so special that visitors shun them, and only by rumor and the occasional fleeting remark by a teacher do they discover their unconventional origins and strange destiny. Kazuo Ishiguro’s sixth novel, Never Let Me Go, is a masterpiece of indirection. Like the students of Hailsham, readers are “told but not told” what is going on and should be allowed to discover the secrets of Hailsham and the truth about these children on their own.”
The Painter of Battles, Arturo Pérez-Reverte
I am only just skimming the surface of this tale, so my impression is still percolating. With that said, it’s a story of a retired war photographer who has retreated to an abandoned tower on the Spanish coast to paint his wartime memories into a mural upon its walls. This mission is an attempt to relieve himself of the burden his own photographs, and the tragedies they embody, have become on his mind.
The cadence of this novel is a bit slow at times and the story largely takes place in the painter’s mind, but the prose is beautiful and striking and catching.
You all should pick up a copy and read along with me and we’ll start a book club. What do you say?
music…
Barton Hollow – the Civil Wars
Since first hearing The Civil Wars single, “Poison & Wine” nearly a year ago, I have been completely hooked on John Paul White’s and Joy Williams’ masterful creations. They hook you in a way only good harmonies and amazing rhythms can, and when their full-length album debuted yesterday I hopped to.
I want to make the title song, “Barton Hollow,” the soundtrack to my life.
This Empty Northern Hemisphere – Gregory Alan Isakov
I got wind of Isakov’s music from an posting on Twitter a few days ago. I looked him up, listened to approximately 15 seconds of the first song, and that was it for me.
All excited to share my new found treasure, I turned on the album for a friend that night, thinking I had stumbled across a relatively unknown musician.
“Oh yeah, I know him,” my friend replied. “I interviewed him last year.”
Way to be behind the times, Anya. Don’t let this happen to you!
What inspires you, dear friends? Please share any and all recommendations. I love learning of new blogs, music, books and ideas.
Love,
-a.e.