Is It Art? Doing Exactly What I Want, Women's History Month, and I'm (sort of) Famous in Kazakhstan

Plus a creative writing prompt: Unforgettable Teachers

Is It Art?

Is it art if you utilize someone else’s work as source material? It’s a conversation I’ve had a couple of times this past month, as I fiddled with a video I took at MoMA to create my own installation-inspired art:

I truly adored the exhibition that inspired it: Otobong Nkanga’s Cadence, “an all-encompassing environment of tapestry, sculpture, sound, and text that explores the turbulent rhythms of nature and society.”

The exhibition was massive and overwhelming, with a deeply textured, seascape-like tapestry that hung from ceiling to floor and large, ceramic beads, or tears, or perhaps they were dense capsules of the very air we breathe, dangling throughout the three-story tall gallery on thick ropes. The juxtaposition brought to mind swimming underwater, or drifting in time-space, or perhaps floating eternally like a bit of man-made debris. On the gallery floor, boulders rooted the ropes, looking to me like gigantic chunks of coal, both honoring and warning of our (mis)use of nature’s bounty, while poems—word art—brought these very thoughts into focus.

I have an affinity for this particular gallery at MoMA where, years ago, the wall-high videos, strange music, and cushioned circular sculptures of Pipilotti Rist’s Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters) inspired an improvisational dance by my kids. Another time, my eldest sat face to face with Marina Abramović for her unforgettable work, The Artist Is Present. (He was little, but, yes, he remembers it still.)

This time I was contemplating not only the art itself, but also what goes into making monumental, site-specific work. As I considered odd angles of observation, I noticed how the ceramic beads created an illusion of singularity that stretched as I moved slowly away, looking up. This observation became my “art video” above—made monochromatic and then layered and cropped multiple times to enhance both the visual and audio effect.

I doubt I’ll be getting any commissions for my “art” in the near future. But as a writer, making this video fed my understanding of the characters I’m developing for a larger project. In this way, everything we experience becomes a rich resource and tool for creativity.

Doing Exactly What I Want

Throughout history, most writers have struggled to make a living. Not only writers, but artists of all sorts. How many stories have we heard of artists dying in poverty, in debt, and unknown, only to find success posthumously. (Gee, thanks!)

Despite those rare stories of fame and fortune that give us hope, it’s unlikely that we can beat the odds. This may sound discouraging, but lately I’ve found comfort by turning that truth on its heel.

This post from Leigh Stein’s Attention Economy shares the story of James Wilcox, whose literary career started with a bang back in the 1980s. But like so many promising artists, things didn’t go quite as planned. Instead of bowing under the strain of disappointment or market pressure, Wilcox discovered freedom in his predicament: “It’s so little money that I’m going to write this exactly the way I want,” Wilcox said. “I feel a burden has been lifted.”

At lunch a few weeks ago, an author friend and I shared more or less the same realization. With no one breathing down our necks for our next money-making manuscript, we had the freedom to write whatever we wanted, to take our time, and indulge the full breadth of our creativity.

At another lunch recently, I met a woman who wasn’t a writer, but who loved to read. “You know,” she confided, “some of my favorite writers get that one amazing book, and then their next books just aren’t as good. They start rehashing the same stories and get more bland every time.” She didn’t name names, but I have witnessed this degradation in quality with writers I once enjoyed, likely due to the pressure of bottom-line focused publishers contracting them to pump out and then publish half-baked words.

Here’s a last thought from the once-illustrious James Wilcox: “When I was getting the pages together, I was worried. Can Binky [his super-star agent] sell this? Now I know it’s never going to be a big commercial book. In a way, I’m much happier.”

The cautionary, sweet-lemony truth: while money would certainly change our lives, it might also change our writing.

Women’s History Month Events

It’s Women’s History Month and AKMARAL is taking the lead in this truly impressive roundup of fantastic fiction about women in history. A huge thanks to author Janis Daly for picking my novel to kick things off.

Follow #31titleswomeninhistory on social media for the full 2025 calendar of books. And if you want to buy any of the titles, check Janis’ bookshelf on Bookshop.org. Buying at Bookshop.org supports independent booksellers and keeps profits out of the hands of billionaires! I also have a Bookshop.org storefront, where I recommend all sorts of favorites, including some great books about writing and being a writer.

Goodreads Giveaway

In honor of the month when we recognize women’s contributions (though I argue that needing a designated month simply affirms female marginalization), I’m doing a Goodreads Giveaway. Register here to win a signed copy of AKMARAL.

And I’m still waiting for that 50th Amazon review of AKMARAL to give away a signed copy of Lisa Williamson Rosenberg’s terrific Mirror Me. (I do realize the hypocrisy of requesting Amazon reviews, given my “billionaire” comment above. Why doesn’t Bookshop.org have a review component? Does anyone know anyone who works there?)

I’m Famous in Kazakhstan…

No, really! Sort of….

“Akmaral” is a very popular name in Kazakhstan. It means “white deer” and is said to bring powerful spiritual energy and great blessings. So far, it has for me! Thanks to the my eponymous protagonist, readers and media in Kazakhstan have discovered my novel. Last fall, I was interviewed for Kazakhstan television. Last month, another interview appeared in Kazakhstan’s national news. The interviewer is a poet himself, and asked for my thoughts on a translated poem. It was a beautiful piece about the relationship between horse and rider that reaches deep into the history of the steppes. Now my comments are shared abroad.

After many years of research and writing, I am happy that I could provide a coherent, meaningful response. It’s an honor to be asked about a culture that is distant, ancient, and not my own. (So far, no one has even mentioned cultural appropriation, and the response to the book has been, “Yes, you got it right.” Whew!) What a world it would be if we all could fully embrace the unique experiences of other peoples, whether they be near and current, or far and lost in the past.

Is there a translation of AKMARAL in the works that would reach more Kazakh readers? We’ll see!

Creative Writing Prompt: The Teacher You Remember

This week, my students were talking about the teachers who made a difference in their lives. When I asked, “Is there a teacher you remember really clearly?” everyone raised their hands. Some described beloved teachers who made a positive difference, and some remembered more negative, even comical scenes. But teachers—love or hate them—make indelible impressions. (I can only imagine what my students think of me!)

My own memory was of Miss Casey, my third grade teacher who taught geography and, for the first time, the deep, fascinating history of Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. One day, she’d returned from vacation with a saree she had bought in India. I had never seen anything like it, but I remember distinctly her standing in front of the class, showing us how she put it on. And how glorious she looked—tall, dark haired, and vibrant—wrapped in that beautiful golden yellow fabric.

I realize now the cultural moment as I couldn’t have understood then. This was the early 1970s. Maybe she was a hippie and had travelled to India, following in the footsteps of The Beatles? She said nothing about any of that, but her off-curriculum lesson made a deep impression on me and perhaps seeded my fascination with other cultures that later blossomed into writing.

PROMPT: Part One: Think about a teacher or mentor who made an impression on you—or, if you’re writing fiction, try imagining someone like that for your character. Even if that memory doesn’t have anything to do with the story you’re working on, discovering that deep influence might reveal something about your or your character’s personality.

If you like what you discover, try Part Two: follow the mentor or teacher on a journey of their own, out of the classroom or other setting to a place or experience that gives insight into what made them memorable. Follow that chain of influence as far as you want to go.

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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