The Hunger

25 May The Hunger

We were fortunate to attend the fourth year of Santa Fe’s International Literary Festival. It’s thrilling to be in the same room with authors who peer deeply into the human condition and deliver insights via storytelling.

Many authors in attendance also teach, including Heather Cox Richardson, Danzy Senna and Percival Everett, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his novel James.

When asked about his curriculum, Everett said that he can’t teach writing. When pressed, he said that he covers the craft of writing, but the element of hunger must come from the students. Everett likened it to teaching the violin. You can teach someone to tighten the bow and finger the strings, but the emotion and expressiveness, the interpreting of a piece of music must come from within.

When we train, we do our best to stimulate and motivate, but in truth, we can only convey the mechanics of speaking skills. Unless there is a hunger to persuade others, one will procrastinate or find excuses not to speak. But when your inner fire is ablaze, or even glowing, it can be married to craft with diligent study and practice. Stay hungry.