I have to say that - in general - I despise all aspiring artists, and by 'artists', I mean writers, painters, sculptors and actors, and I despise actors and writers more than all of them put together. They are so fucking boring.Beryl Bainbridge was both an actor and writer, and she died yesterday (?) at the relatively young age of 75 (?). I didn't despise her though, she was far from boring. In my mind, she was one of a small clutch (sorry about the avian terminology) of women writers who really made me wish that I was of the same gender, purely so that I could try to emulate their way of dealing with their puffed-up male counterparts - an option denied me due to my compact but adorable set of gonads which currently sit proudly on my baronial fireplace mantle-piece, bobbing around in an over-sized jar of formaldehyde.
I really love these 'older woman' artistes, and hope that there are more in the wings as understudies, ready to fill the gaps. I'm sure there are - especially if my dear girls are anything to go by. There has never been enough of them. Maybe that is why they are so cherished?
A (female) friend, who I inadvertently encouraged to live in this area, was her publisher, and gave her literary career its first break. She always spoke 'kindly' of her. I hadn't heard she'd died; but then I'm not too sure whether Churchill's still around.
ReplyDeleteAh, she was a real character wasn't she?! I kinda like Fay Weldon too.
ReplyDeleteMilt's Muttie
If that is her in the pic, then her fish nets and that stretched out face of experience signify a woman who stepped outside the bounds of censure. Good on the girl.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused - artists or aspiring artists- that you despise? It's easy to slag them off at the time, until their work becomes the canon and then generations later they are lauded as the epitome of their time.
And I consider myself as a writer ... because I write.
Bring it on Tom! (Gulp)
No, I was only joking about the 'aspiring' bit. I just thought I would try to punish Amy Saia for not commenting on my blog recently.
ReplyDeleteYes - I love Fay Weldon too, Milton. I will tell you my Beryl Reed story sometime soon. I love those old birds.