Josephine Hart

"Poetry has never let me down. Without poetry, I would have found life less comprehensible, less bearable and infinitely less enjoyable."

— Josephine Hart

Irish Novelist, Writer

1942 - 2011

Commentary

Reading is a habit that many of us cultivated at a very young age.  And most of us would admit that reading has helped us through some difficult times in our lives.  What do you read?  Poetry?  Novels?  Biographies?  History?  Memoirs?  Reading has brought me much comfort during my life.  Without reading I would have been a much different person.  Reading has opened my heart and shown me many worlds.  I remember once while I was in college of going to a restaurant late at night and reading poetry aloud for the shocked customers.

Creative Practice

Read aloud  one of your favorite poems for family and friends to hear.

About the Novelist

Josephine Hart who was born in 1942 in Ireland.  She wrote six novels and hosted public readings of poetry.

Video:

Here is a video of Hart discussing her novel, Damage.

Biography Sources:

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/stothard/2011/06/josephine-hart-in-a-few-words.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Hart

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/03/josephine-hart-obituary

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/8555567/Josephine-Hart.html

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Richard B. Sheridan

"Won't you come into the garden?  I would like my roses to see you."

— Richard B. Sheridan

Irish Poet, Playwright

1751 - 1816

I have spent the weekend helping my wife transform our yard into several gardens.  This is not a normal pastime for us.  What gardens we have our daughter created a few years ago.  We have a large yard (.9 acre) with lots of trees.  I would prefer to live in the woods with no grass.  We almost bought a house in the woods in Indiana 27 years ago but it was too small.  We want gardens that require very little maintenance. 

As artists and creative leaders we are all in a sense gardeners.  We plant the seeds of our hopes and dreams in our writings and paintings.  We are tilling the soil of our hearts, looking for answers to our questions.  We must pull the weeds out of our writing and our painting.  We must fertilize the creative soil.  And when we are done, we can share the beauty of our creation with others.  So this week, be sure to tend the gardens of your creation.

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C. S. Lewis

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

— C. S. Lewis

Irish Writer

1998 - 1963

When we stop dreaming, we start dying.  Life is about discovering our dreams and embarking on a journey to achieve them.  Colonel Harlan Sanders was 65 when he began his journey to build the fast food restaurant chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Immanuel Kant wrote one of his best philosophical works at the age of 74.  Grandma Moses picked up a paintbrush at age 76 and painted over a thousand paintings during the next 25 years.  Jessica Tandy won an Oscar at age 80 for her role in Driving Miss Daisy.  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe finished Faust at 81.  Henry Roth published his first novel when he was 28 and his second when he was 89.

What dreams have you given up on?  What dreams have you not yet dreamed?  Is it time to set another goal?

(Quote source:  Goodreads. com)

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James Stephens

"What the heart knows today, the head will understand tomorrow."

— James Stephens

Irish Novelist

1882 - 1850

Take a break, my friend, from your thoughts and listen to your heart.

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George Bernard Shaw

"The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and about all time."

— George Bernard Shaw

1856 - 1950

Irish Playwright

Why do you write?  Why do you paint?  Is it to tell your story?  For many of us creative work helps us understand who we are and where we came from.  Creative work allows us to explore the world into which we were born.  In the process of understanding who we are and where we came from, we also begin to understand what it means to be human.

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Oscar Wilde

"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter."

— Oscar Wilde

Irish Poet, Novelist, Playwright

1854 -1900

Writers, artists and poets reinvent themselves in their work.  When they create a character or paint a portrait, they are recreating a portion of themselves and their lives.  Yes, it may be a portrait of another person, but the artist leaves a piece of his soul in the painting.  The great artists and writers put themselves in their work.  

Remember that your emotions, your feelings are important to your success.  Reach deep within yourself and find the heart of your emotion.  Open yourself up to the world and find the words and images that convey your emotions in new and exciting ways.

See if you can identify the artists of these portraits of women.

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George Bernard Shaw

"When I was young I observed that nine out of every ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work."

— George Bernard Shaw

Irish Playwright

1856 - 1950

How do you respond when you fail?  Do you give up and quit?  Do you work harder at becoming better?  The difference between winners and losers is that the winners keep going long after the losers have quit.  What failures are holding you back today?  What expectations do you have about success?  When you try to do something new, how many times are you willing to fail before you find success?  Once?  Twice?  Five time?  A hundred times?

Why are we as a society obsessed with success and failure?  Many of us desire fame and fortune and will work hard to achieve it.  And some of us are destroyed when we fail.  We can't stand to fail.  When we reach the end of our lives will our failures and successes matter?  Or will the people we love be more important?

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Oscar Wilde

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot be taken from you.  In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."

— Oscar Wilde

Irish Writer/Novelist/Playwright

1854 - 1900

Most of us will never be financially wealthy and many of us will live paycheck to paycheck, but money does not and will not make us happy.  Happiness is an inside job.  Your riches can be found in becoming who you are meant to be.  As creative leaders, we sometimes think our wealth is in our creations:  novels, poems, paintings, sculptures, music and films, but in truth, our real wealth is in our souls.  The art is simply an expression of who we are.  So what are the riches within your soul?  What makes you special and unique?  Life is a gift.  What are you doing to appreciate what you have been given?  Celebrate your riches.

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