Henry Sapoznik is a musician who has a pure and shining love of, as he says, “music that sounds like it comes from somewhere.” He was recently interviewed by www.burryman.com and had this to say about his work:
“I don’t do my work for anyone but me. This is a completely selfish undertaking. I love people to like what I do, but I can’t worry, will people like this? I love my audience, but they gotta love what I do. If we forget, if we’re not moved by our own work, our compasses are all screwed up. My work is completely reflective of my own interests—‘oh, this amuses me, I wonder what this would be like?’ . . . and we’re off to the races. I can’t even imagine a world where we’re forced to forgo that creative process. Maybe we’re stuck in a juvenile frame of mind that the world is about us.”
Sapoznik also said that doing the work was about satisfying his own integrity. It’s as if he trusts the process completely, even if, for the moment, it doesn’t seem to be taking him anywhere.
When you create, whether it’s writing, painting or some other art form, are you doing it for yourself? Do you love what you are doing and creating? I agree with Sapoznik that these are great “acid test” questions, ones we want to ask ourselves with regularity.
And what if you get lost in your work? So lost, maybe, that you aren’t sure just what you are doing or why? Sapoznik said:
“It’s like the thing I learned in the Boy Scouts: if you get lost, stay where you are. You will be found.”
In my mind, this translates to all of us former Girl Scouts, too. Follow your bliss, Joseph Campbell used to say. And if in that pursuit of your bliss you lose your way, don’t panic. The bliss will find you.
May you love what you do and be found in 2009!
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Henry has been one of my inspirations to, ask we say in our motto, “Do The Work”. Henry started out as a bluegrass musician (and is still considered one of the best clawhammer banjo players in the country). His now-famous story is that he was in the hills of North Carolina, sitting at the feet of an old timey musician to learn the music, when the man said to him, “Henry? Ain’t you people got your own music?” I’ve always taken that lesson… learn to hear your own music.
Thanks for stopping by.
Best,
Joseph
The Burry Man Writers Center