OUT OF OUR ELEMENT with Dan Malossi and Lauren Roedy Vaughn

The Players:

LRV = Lauren Roedy Vaughn

DM = Dan Malossi

DM: THE WISDOM OF BUKOWSKI…

Sometimes you just have to hand it to Charles Bukowski: the poet and novelist really got to the heart of the matter…Hemingway without the hunting, the fishing—and with a touch less bravado.

Still, if you ever ask why you’re compelled to write…this is a good poem to read and reflect on.

Sometimes my students ask why I write…which really means “why should they?” I tell them there’s no other way to become a god in this world. It’s a real power, and you need the skills to wield the power the right way. To do good, to tell stories, to make people feel.

Charlie says it better:

“Writing” 

often it is the only

thing

between you and

impossibility.

no drink,

no woman’s love,

no wealth

can

match it.

nothing can save

you

except

writing.

it keeps the walls

from

failing.

the hordes from

closing in.

it blasts the

darkness.

writing is the

ultimate

psychiatrist,

the kindliest

god of all the

gods.

writing stalks

death.

it knows no

quit.

and writing

laughs

at itself,

at pain.

it is the last

expectation,

the last

explanation.

that’s

what it

is.

— Bukowski