Toni Morrison
Are you a late bloomer? I am. I didn’t start writing until I was 38 (after a career as a licensed psychotherapist), and I am just now hitting my writing stride at 58. My first novel, Seeking Sara Summers, was published when I was 52. My seventh novel, Temple Secrets, came out this year.
Now that my books are selling well, I’ve played around with the idea of slowing down and maybe walking at the river more, but I don’t see myself doing that any time soon. I just love writing way too much. Plus, I have readers asking for more.
At the same time, I’m fascinated with late bloomers. Those people that seem to find their “voice” and talents in middle age or later. People like me, except a lot more well-known. So I did some research and came up with a list of famous late bloomers in the Arts. From Pulitzer prize winning writers to octogenarian painters and 98 year old sculptors, this list may inspire you to do that creative thing you’ve always wanted to do.
- Toni Morrison published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, at age 40 as a single mom.
- Dorothy Allison was 42 when Bastard Out of Carolina came out.
- George Eliot published her first novel at 40.
- Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn at age 49.
- Chef, Julia Child, didn’t learn how to cook until her 40s, and didn’t have her television show until her 50s.
- Actor, Alan Rickman, who played Snape in the Harry Potter films, got his first film role at 46.
- Singer, Susan Boyle, was 46 when she got discovered on Britain’s Got Talent.
- Anna Mary Robertson Moses (Grandma Moses) started painting when she was 75 and became a famous American painter.
Grandma Moses
- Filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock, made Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho between his 54th and 61st birthdays.
- Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe at 58.
- The works Cezanne created in his mid-60s are valued 15 times higher than those he created as a young man.
- Painter, Carmen Herrera, sold her first artwork in 2004 when she was 89 years old, after six decades of private painting. (I did a blog post on her in 2009 called Perseverance. You can find it here.)
- At the age of 74, Norman Maclean published his first and only novel, the 1976 best-selling book, A River Runs Through It.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder became a columnist in her 40s, but did not publish her first novel in the Little House series of children’s books until her 60s.
- Frank McCourt didn’t publish his first book Angela’s Ashes (he won the Pulitzer Prize for this book) until he was 66.
- Sculptor, Louise Bourgeois, reached her greatest artistic success in her 70s and 80s. She died at 98, having finished another one of the sculptures the week before.
Louise Bourgeois sculpture
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Wow. That’s some pretty amazing talent, right? Do you have anyone you would add to this list of famous late bloomers? Other thoughts? Comments? If you’re feeling a little shy and don’t want to comment, but enjoy this blog, please considering posting this on the social media platform of your choice and help spread the word.
P.S. Next week: In my periodic newsletter and a blog post (with the same content), I’ll be giving away a limited number of free audio book versions of Grace, Grits and Ghosts: Southern Short Stories and my latest novel Temple Secrets, now available on Audible and Amazon! Whoo-hoo!!
P.P.S. For those of you who don’t know me, I am an acclaimed novelist and a late bloomer. You can check out my books here.
We should not stop dreaming or our hard work. Success will come. Someday!
Susan, I thoroughly enjoyed this article. Today is my legal 75th birthday. I needed this particular reminder today. As a small child I first learned to sew and explored creativity there. I drew on school paper and once got caught and sat in front of the class wearing a dunce cap. Those drawings I remember were stories. I learned to paint as a child on a used canvas with old paint and cast away brushes. I was a clothing designer creating pictures from my mind. I took up painting again; taught and sold my work. I turned to sculpture always refining what was aching to come out. I did not start writing till my mid twenties; a pass time for a young mother while her children slept. I have written all my adult life in between earning a living. It wasn’t until 2007 at the age of 67 I bought a computer and opened a box of a life times work to occupy my single retired time. I found there; in that box what I believe I was meant to do all along – write. I have struggled with it, fought with it and studied it and loved every minute. I write to the point my house is dusty and dishes lie in the sink and often to the point my eyes burn so bad I can barely blink. Writing is part of my past; it is my present and my future. I want to see my name added to such a list as yours. I may not live to see it, but it will be there. Its women such as you who keep me inspired. Thank you.
I suppose I must be! I wrote my first novel and had it published at age 72.
Parson in Paradise. This was followed by The Upper Crust, a 500 page blood and thunder novel also published by Xlibris. I am a permanent writer for my local Newspaper, and aged 91 at present time. I write every day and am responsible for hundreds of poems and short stories.
All this after my retirement and was an engineer for 40 years.
I am proud of what I have achieved, and my life is full even today.
Can`t stop writing!
Geoffrey Kennell.
You have an inspiring story, Rachealgrace. A story of a person determined to live a creative life. Thanks so much for coming to my blog and for sharing it so that others can get inspired. May you continue on for many years to come! xo
Thanks, sanjoy. I’d like to think that ‘success’ is also to be found in the process of creating. So many people never get around to do it. So perhaps success is now, more than we realize.
Good for you, Geoffrey! It sounds like you’ve accomplished plenty to be proud of. To live a full life is the ultimate success. Thanks so much for stopping by and telling us your story.
Susan
I have been writing travel articles and short stories, for magazines, in my mother tongue for the past ten years. But never took it seriously, just a bit of fun. My job took all my time and energy. The inspiration to write in English came after my wife started her blog post.
I think first you get interested to write, after which you struggle with writing for some time and then you actually start your journey of writing. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Some of these are a little dubious. Cezanne? Hardly. And I wouldn’t call Alfred Hitchcock a late bloomer. He started directing films in his 20s (silents) and was a household name by 1940. Indeed he was one of the first directors who name went large above the title on the movie poster. When he made the films cited as his “breakouts” he was actually at the apex of his career.
And you forgot Deborah Eisenberg, who didn’t write anything till she turned 35 and didn’t publish her first story until she was 40. 🙂
One of my favorite late bloomers was the Czech composer LeoÅ¡ JanáÄek.
Point taken, John. It is definitely an imperfect list, derived from a bunch of other imperfect lists on the internet.
I didn’t know that Deborah Eisenberg didn’t write anything until she turned 35. Good for her!
I think you’re right, Sanjoy. The journey of writing is a journey of a thousand steps, and it takes a while to get firm footing on the path. I commend you for tackling writing in another language. That’s more than I’ve done, or can even imagine doing.
Thanks so much for stopping by this blog and leaving such a thoughful comment. 🙂
I published my first story last year. Believe me, as all first novels are, it could be a lot better! Well, just wait….
I like your attitude, Nick.