Fear Centers, Skull Shape, the Madness of Making Art, and a BOOK GIVEAWAY
Plus a creative writing prompt: History for Tomorrow
Fear Centers in Chaos
A study I read some time ago analyzed the psychological tendencies of conservative and liberal personalities. “On the whole, the research shows, conservatives desire security, predictability and authority more than liberals do, and liberals are more comfortable with novelty, nuance and complexity.”
A more recent study reveals differences in the size of the amygdala, the brain’s fear center: larger in conservative-leaning brains, smaller in liberal ones.
These studies are not conclusive, but the results beg for answers: What biological imperative created these differences? And how can we harness them to work together rather than to pull everything apart?
In truth, without order, security, and respect for authority, we cannot revel in the novelty and nuance that, for example, creates or appreciates art. But none of these desires can be achieved in the midst of chaos.
What biological imperative created these differences? And how can we harness them to work together rather than to pull everything apart?
Why Is “Highbrow” a Dirty Word?
As a retired dancer of a certain age, perhaps it’s not surprising that anything Mikhail Baryshnikov does still takes my breath away. I am gifting my readers an article about what he’s doing now, Is Mikhail Baryshnikov the Last of the Highbrow Superstars?
The sad truth is that “highbrow” is a dirty word in much of America. Being cultured or intellectual is so out of favor that it foments social and political fury. But I have always been drawn to all things “highbrow,” long before I understood the word. Whether the literally breathtaking challenge of ballet, the multifaceted meanings of difficult literary works, or the ineffable power of visual art—these were and are the obsessions that fill my days and dreams.
Amusingly, the term “highbrow” gained traction when a late 19th century pseudoscience, phrenology, determined that people with large foreheads were more intelligent. While that seems ridiculous from a modern, scientific perspective, who is to say what future readers will think of the above-mentioned study of amygdala size?
The Work of Art
After almost a year spent promoting my novel, I am only now truly reentering my creative work. I have a novel in progress that I recognize won’t fit the current tastes of the publishing marketplace or what is truly popular in our culture. What I want to make now—what I have tried to make for most of my life—is something that approaches Art, with an intentional capital A.
In embracing that effort, I bought myself a gift: The Work of Art by Adam Moss.
Through its beautifully authored and illustrated pages, I am absorbing the inner workings of artists in different media and of varying degrees of fame. Some, like dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp, I saw perform in their heyday. Others are completely new to me. But this collection of essays ponders the work of creation, that mysterious, often tedious, frequently frustrating urge to create “something that comes from nothing”—because that is what art-making is: creating something from an impulse, a vision, an inexplicable gut sensation. For some of us, that vision is relatable, communicable, even popular enough to interest the masses. For others, it is simply what we cannot help but make, even if it has value to no one but ourselves.
The work of creation, that mysterious, often tedious, frequently frustrating urge to create “something that comes from nothing.”
BOOK GIVEAWAY: Mirror Me by Lisa Williamson Rosenberg
Since I’m pondering psychological topics here, it’s apropos that I’m giving away a signed copy of a psychological thriller written by my friend—and another former dancer!—Lisa Williamson Rosenberg. Mirror Me is a suspenseful quest for self told through the perspectives of a biracial adoptee and a voice that “lives in his head.” Or does it? Here’s the official teaser:
Eddie Asher arrives at Hudson Valley Psychiatric Hospital panicked that he may have murdered his brother’s fiancée, Lucy, with whom he shared a profound kinship. What has Pär, whom Eddie calls his Other, been up to? Can Dr. Richard Montgomery, a specialist in dissociative identities, decode the truth of Lucy’s fate along with Eddie’s inexplicable memories of another man’s life?
To win, all you have to do is review AKMARAL on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
(Both would really help.)
Whoever submits the 50th Amazon review and sends me a note when it’s posted will win a signed copy of MIRROR ME.
I’ve received some truly wonderful reviews so far. My request for more is to trigger the Amazon algorithm which, the theory goes, will starting push AKMARAL to more readers once it hits the “magic number” of 50 reviews.
If you haven’t read AKMARAL yet, perhaps I can entice you with the news that my novel has been shortlisted for the Sarton Prize? I found out just today and I’m honored!
Ashland, Mass.: My Last Book Event for Now
Many thanks to Meena Jain and the Ashland Public Library in Massachusetts for hosting my virtual book talk last week. You can WATCH THE VIDEO HERE, which features a presentation with slides of my inspirations and research:
If you have a book club or other group and want me to speak, please ask!
Creative Writing Prompt: History for Tomorrow
Given that we are living through a clearly memorable historical moment—perhaps we always are?—I am trying to focus on the truth that things will change. Perhaps for the better, perhaps for the worse, but inevitably the pendulum will continue to swing.
With that in mind, try this writing prompt: As dryly as you can (as if you are writing for a future history textbook or whatever Wikipedia will become), describe this period in history from the perspective of, say, 100 years from now.
Think about it: 100 years ago was 1925. The heat of Roaring Twenties. Prohibition. Jazz. Flappers. F. Scott Fitzgerald would be preparing his book launch for THE GREAT GATSBY in April. They would be arguing over teaching evolution in the Scopes Trial in July. And Malcolm X would be born in May.
It seems like long ago. Or perhaps it seems like just yesterday. We know what happened with THE GREAT GATSBY—students are still reading it in classrooms around the country. We also know that some people are still arguing over teaching evolution. And we know who young Malcolm Little became.
So how will the future look back at 2025? Who will be remembered? Who forgotten? How will the cultural conversation stay the same or change? Pick three key points to focus on, something from:
The Arts
Politics
The Sciences
Remember that “History is written by the victors.” Or is it? And who, or what, will be victorious after our politically fraught, overcrowded, environmentally challenged now?
Thank you, everyone, for your support. And to my paid subscribers, you are ANGELS!
AKMARAL: a nomad woman warrior of the ancient Central Asian steppes must make peace with making war
“A crackling novel”—Publishers Weekly | “A gripping saga”— #1 bestselling author Christina Baker Kline
4.8 stars on Amazon | 4.28 stars on Goodreads - PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN REVIEW!
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