The Real Awards
On the Creative Journey
Any long-time artist can tell you endless stories of rejection. I liken the professional side of the creative journey to tennis, where even the best players experience so much defeat. At his famous Dartmouth College commencement speech, Roger Federer cited losing 46% of the points in matches played throughout his career.
Staying with tennis as I think about my own writing career, I recall the less cited yet equally significant quote by the great Billie Jean King. Everyone knows, “Pressure is a privilege.” It’s even written on a plaque in the tunnel of Arthur Ashe Stadium. In her memoir though, she also importantly reminds us all, “Tennis is about relationships.”
Our culture along with its creatives will never get over the obsession with awards. Believe me, I’ve tried over the years to surrender my own. As on any spiritual journey, however, when I consider relationships it does shift my values and expectations.
After years of circling around translations of the 14th century Persian poet Hafez, in early March I finally have a book of his more sensual ghazals based in love coming out. Translating this mater of the form is like reckoning with Shakespeare. So many have brought him into English before me with many more to come after I’m gone.
