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"Two Arts (An Essay)"
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Letters & Speeches by Jeph Johnson
As a regular poet, my job is to observe. An exceptional poet also experiences. I find the "art of experiencing" difficult despite being an expert in the "art of observation."
Some people produce masterpieces with their experience alone, yet need others to interpret their accomplishments via the written word. I must allow my art to speak for itself the same way an accomplished musician or athlete allows their symphony or scoring average to shine. The difference is, I manipulate words, while conjuring the experience either from fantasy, or, in a rare instance, reality. Unless, of course I write of someone else's experience.
I am not alone in needing a fixation. Often for the successful poet, alcohol, drugs or some other "super-reality" inducing property provides the impetus for a newly defined or more vivid "reality."
In fact, I am hard-pressed to recall a successful poet who has not utilized some sort of artificial stimuli to experience a new version of reality.
Even the occasionally deft tee-totaling poet inspired by religion is, some would say, being influenced by a "supernatural" reality.
Drugs and alcohol (or, dare I say, "God"?) enhance and transform the art of observation into the art of experience.
Remember, at least to this point in my literary career, I've utilized drugs and drink so rarely that it really is a non-factor. God, well that's another story...
Consider this when examining my work (not that the artificial influence is missing; it surely is present in the theatrical "love scenes" I set up with my dancing muses): that I've rarely relied on any drug or drink to stimulate inspiration ...but, like the junkie or alcoholic, I am desperately torn between a) wanting to escape from -or- b) diving headlong into my excuses for being a poor "experiencer."
