Discussion JRR Tolkien, The Inklings and survival through artistic union.

[lohre2000s]

Hello.
This might be a confusing, weird or just plain unfitting post to... well, to post here.

I have been using Sasu for about a month now and it has already had a huge impact in my life due to people I met and stories I read.

I am in a very complicated checkpoint of my life. I hate almost every second of it except for when I'm doing art - writing,drawing,3D modelling, youtube videos...
Throughout my talks with a dear friend I made on sasu I came to the conclusion that I perhaps, can manage survival if I manage to "keep the artist alive."

So now, I want to talk a little bit about J.R.R Tolkien and the Inklings.
Well, there is not really much to talk about, I don't need to get into specifics or write a huge essay to explain my idea - basically, during his life as an writer, Tolkien (the creator of Lord of the Rings) and few other writers would reunite frequently in a pub. They'd discuss writing, literature and whatever it was that was related to their craft - one of the writers that was part of these was C.S Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia).

And so, came an idea - I think I'd like to meet people that live solely for the artistic process. As arrogant, or perhaps pretentious as it sounds, I'd like to try living my own version of The Inklings, is anyone up for that? If so, what do you like? Why do you do art? Is this idea even viable?
I am just babbling right now of course - A lot more polish to this idea must be done, but well...

I don't know if this is the right place... Sasu was the first place I got noticed for being an artist, so I feel like it should be ok, but I'm not so sure.

Thanks for reading.

 

[yotaka]

I think creative/artistic types sticking together is the only way to retain any shred of sanity in this dumpster of a world. Artstic communities can definitely have their own problems, especially when everyone is clawing for status and/or money, but folks here seem pretty chill in general. (I guess being suicidal tends to have that effect).

If you want to talk about anything writing related (could be books, games, etc.), I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm also interested in other modes of creative expression, although I don't have much expertise in things like visual art. It would be cool to connect with artists, though.

 

[lohre2000s]

I think creative/artistic types sticking together is the only way to retain any shred of sanity in this dumpster of a world. Artstic communities can definitely have their own problems, especially when everyone is clawing for status and/or money, but folks here seem pretty chill in general. (I guess being suicidal tends to have that effect).

If you want to talk about anything writing related (could be books, games, etc.), I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm also interested in other modes of creative expression, although I don't have much expertise in things like visual art. It would be cool to connect with artists, though.

I totally agree with you.
I believe artistic communities fall into mayhem when the interest is money or fame and whatnot.
What I am trying (hopefully) to propose is a "round table" of artists, passionate about art and the creative proccess.

A good example is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that was written in a friendly competition between writers that were stuck in a cabin during winter (or something like that). When made out of love for the craft, magic happens.


What are your interests? You mentioned writing, right? Any favorite stories, directors, writers?

 

[yotaka]

What are your interests? You mentioned writing, right? Any favorite stories, directors, writers?

I guess writing is my main creative outlet, but I haven't really been able to write anything in quite a while.

I'll try to share some of my favorites as you requested. Apologies if it's not very coherent. I'm not doing well today, so it's hard to focus and think.

My favorites are kind of all over the place. Tolkien is a favorite, although it's been a long time since I've read The Hobbit or LotR. I like fantasy in concept, but aside from Tolkien I've had a very hard time finding any that I like. It all seems to miss what it is that appeals to me about fantasy.

More recently I've appreciated The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, The Fall by Albert Camus, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, everything I've read so far by Kazuo Ishiguro... there are others, but I can't remember right now.

That's a start at least.

 

[lohre2000s]

I guess writing is my main creative outlet, but I haven't really been able to write anything in quite a while.

I'll try to share some of my favorites as you requested. Apologies if it's not very coherent. I'm not doing well today, so it's hard to focus and think.

My favorites are kind of all over the place. Tolkien is a favorite, although it's been a long time since I've read The Hobbit or LotR. I like fantasy in concept, but aside from Tolkien I've had a very hard time finding any that I like. It all seems to miss what it is that appeals to me about fantasy.

More recently I've appreciated The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, The Fall by Albert Camus, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, everything I've read so far by Kazuo Ishiguro... there are others, but I can't remember right now.

That's a start at least.

Oh I love Sylvia Plath! (Tho I've only read her poetry for now. The Bell Jar seems great)

I haven't actually read any of these you mentioned, but I have a very deep interest in Virginia Woolf - I think I'd love her. I am a little bit of a mongrel when it comes to reading still - I only got into the habit last year and the recent shortcomings of life do not allow me much time to read, so I'm engaging more with movies.
From the ones I read I really liked The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek and the classic Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird.
I read Hamlet too and I was kind of impressed - this Shakespeare guy is kind of good! (it was great)

 

[yotaka]

Oh I love Sylvia Plath! (Tho I've only read her poetry for now. The Bell Jar seems great)

I haven't actually read any of these you mentioned, but I have a very deep interest in Virginia Woolf - I think I'd love her. I am a little bit of a mongrel when it comes to reading still - I only got into the habit last year and the recent shortcomings of life do not allow me much time to read, so I'm engaging more with movies.
From the ones I read I really liked The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek and the classic Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird.
I read Hamlet too and I was kind of impressed - this Shakespeare guy is kind of good! (it was great)

I wish I had learned to appreciate poetry when I was much younger. I like what I've read of Sylvia Plath's poetry, but I feel like too much of an amateur to fully enjoy it.

Let me know if you read To the Lighthouse. I'd like to read more Woolf eventually.

I hadn't heard of The Piano Teacher. It looks interesting. Music is a major part of my life, so I'd be interested to see how the story approaches it. I read To Kill A Mockingbird a very long time ago. I don't remember much about it, but I know it's widely considered one of the best novels in English. And yeah, I've heard Shakespeare is pretty good. Maybe I'll check him out sometime

You mentioned movies. Are there any that have especially struck you?

 

[lohre2000s]

I wish I had learned to appreciate poetry when I was much younger. I like what I've read of Sylvia Plath's poetry, but I feel like too much of an amateur to fully enjoy it.

Let me know if you read To the Lighthouse. I'd like to read more Woolf eventually.

I hadn't heard of The Piano Teacher. It looks interesting. Music is a major part of my life, so I'd be interested to see how the story approaches it. I read To Kill A Mockingbird a very long time ago. I don't remember much about it, but I know it's widely considered one of the best novels in English. And yeah, I've heard Shakespeare is pretty good. Maybe I'll check him out sometime

You mentioned movies. Are there any that have especially struck you?

There was a time I went through some piano classes for about 1 year or 2. Unfortunately college came soon after and I forgot everything nowadays... I want to get back to it eventually.

You mentioned Virginia Woolf and one movie that I recently watched that surprised me was "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" - it's just about this couple that seems to hate each other and it's so fucking well written, it's beautiful!

I've also been dabbling in a lot of John Cassavetes's work (Opening Night, Love Streams, A Woman Under the Influence).

I really love movies.

I am thinking about reading Virginia Woolf, do you think To The Lighthouse is a good start?