The Creative Life

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog discussing how I became a writer. I talked about my love for reading since childhood, which is certainly a must. During my 25 years of teaching fiction workshops, I had a few students who said they did not like to read. I always tried to be positive and supportive in the classroom, but I would tell these students there is little chance of becoming a good fiction writer if you do not have a passion to read, especially a passion to read fiction. If you want to write good romance stories, then you need to read lots of good romance stories. If you want to write good literary fiction, then you need to read lots of good literary fiction. I began reading novels in the late 70’s. A very good friend of mine, Sam Bucy, introduced me to the Travis McGee novels by John D. MacDonald. I read all 20 and loved them all. They are fun reads, good brain candy. Millions of people still love the adventures of Travis, me included. In a future post, I’ll discuss the never-ending allure of Travis McGee, Meyer, and the Busted Flush. And like I said in that earlier post, John Irving’s The World According to Garp is the novel that struck the match to the possibility of writing fiction. I think you can see the influence of Garp in most of my fiction. Nevertheless, what provided the fertile ground for me beginning a life’s journey of writing fiction was living a creative life. One doesn’t wake up one day and decide to become a fiction writer. What we are learning more and more is that a creative life should be sought by most everyone, no matter your station in life, your life’s focus. A creative life is a lifestyle. There were many influences that pointed me into the creative lifestyle, but my most important influence was Ron Harris, my high school biology and English teacher.

There are many definitions of what constitutes a creative life. One needs to be open to learning about yourself, the world, and especially one’s interest. That means being open to anything that will add to your knowledge of the world. Try to surround yourself with people who are also passionate about your interests, your art. One must understand that learning is a lifelong process, that one doesn’t suddenly become a professional and fold up the learning tent. You understand and embrace the idea that learning is never ending. In fact, a thirst for knowledge is at the core of living a contented and satisfied life. And as you want to learn from others, you also want to help share your knowledge. I’ve met a few writers who seem to believe that they have the secret formula to writing good fiction and have decided that they will not be helping you by providing you the insights into what they have learned about writing. And that’s a shame. And I think a creative life means that you have confidence in yourself, in your beliefs, who you are, and what you believe to be the purpose of your life. I’m sure other people have different ideas about the creative life, but most of the aspects I’ve mentioned are certainly part of the creative lifestyle. As mentioned earlier, a creative life is important for everyone, from a soldier to a tech worker, from a painter to a business owner. The creative life helps everyone live a meaningful, successful, and satisfied life.

Ron Harris didn’t sit me down and teach me how to live a creative life. He was my 9th grade biology teacher in 1973 and one of my English teachers during my senior year at J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville, Alabama. I also spent time with Ron in the late 70’s and early 80’s as a friend. What I learned from Ron was from observation. I had never met a person like Ron when I entered his biology classroom at the age of 14. He was very intelligent, very knowledgeable, very patient, and had a thirst for knowledge and a desire to help his students learn. He wasn’t there to just teach you, he wanted to help you learn. I found that fascinating. I remember taking class field trips on the mountain behind the school. Soon as the bell rung, we were out the door marching to the mountain so he could show us in person what was in the book, anything connected to the natural world. 9th graders are an unruly bunch, immature and not focused, but Ron never lost his temper, rather he pulled you in by showing you his amazement with the world. He would stop on the hike and explain about the moss, the lichens growing on trees and rocks, the different types of trees, the importance of death and decay to nature. I found the idea that a biology teacher could also teach English quite fascinating. How could that be? Didn’t make sense to my high school sensibility. Ron was also in charge of theatre productions for the school, including the Senior Escapes. In addition, he was also heavily involved in local theatre productions. I have a memory of walking into his office at Johnson as if I had walked into a foreign land. The office contained what you would think a biology, English, and theatre teacher’s office would contain, but for me at that age it was a creative wonderland. There were items from nature, interestingly shaped limbs, and I think the office contained an old hornets’ nest, maybe a stuffed animal or two, a few plants; from the theatre world there were props, costumes, and posters; and, of course, there were literary books, nature books, and theatre books. For my teenage mind, such a cornucopia of one man’s interests seemed strange and baffling.

Processing Ron’s creative life didn’t produce an eureka moment for me. While I was in high school, I never tried to write poetry or fiction. I didn’t suddenly want to be in theatre or be an actor (though I did participate in our Senior Escapes as a dentist based on the dentist from the movie Marathon Man). Nor did I wake up one day with a desire to become a biology teacher.  The first few years after high school, Sam Bucy and I would visit Ron’s apartment every now and then. The dynamic of our relationship changed from teacher/student to friend. Sometimes other people would be there, sometimes just the three of us, and we would talk about Johnson High, current events, maybe watch Saturday Night Live, listen to music. I have seen Ron sporadically through the 49 years when we first met in that biology class, but the time of my life from 9th grade in 1973 until the first few years of attending college in the late 70’s and early 80’s was the time when Ron most impacted my life. Of course, those years of one’s life are extremely important in forming who you are and what you want to be. There is little doubt in my mind that what I learned from Ron Harris was what I observed: a creative life. I saw a man who was open to the world, who had a thirst for knowledge, who wanted to learn for the sake of learning, who held a child’s enthusiasm for life, who wanted to help you learn, help you see the joy in learning about the world. I remember sitting in Ron’s kitchen with Sam and asking Ron,” Why don’t you move to New York City? What are doing here? You are so creative, so talented, you should be in the New York theatre world.” He said, “James, I don’t want to go up there and fight in that world. I’m very happy where I am.” At that moment, I didn’t understand his perspective, but I soon learned the wisdom of his words. I taught English for 30 years and have been writing fiction for 37 years; most of those decisions can be traced back to what I observed in the creative lifestyle of Ron Harris.