a president for writers

Becky Tuch wrote, "Bernie Sanders Would be a Great President for Writers," and although the candidate is one no longer, it seems important to recognize how such a presidency, and the expressed policies of the candidate, would positively impact the lives of a large group of writers who survive through adjunct classes, freelance work, and other gig employment.

"other writers can't help you with writing"

"Well, I dunno, I do have the feeling that other writers can't help you with writing," [Nelson] Algren said. "I've gone to writers' conferences and writers' sessions and writers' clinics, and the more I see of them, the more I'm sure it's the wrong direction. It isn't the place where you learn to write. I've always felt strongly that a writer shouldn't be engaged with other writers, or with people who make books, or even with people who read them. I think the farther away you get from literary traffic, the closer you are to sources. I mean, a writer doesn't really live. He observes."

~~ from Colin Asher's Never A Lovely So Real: The Life and Work of Nelson Algren

Isabel Allende on Writing

“Writing, when all is said and done, is an attempt to understand one's own circumstance and to clarify the confusion of existence, including insecurities that do not torment normal people, only chronic nonconformists, many of whom end up as writers after having failed in other undertakings.”

 ~~ from My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile by Isabel Allende

Arthur Nersesian

When people are young, they are inclined to see the world in absolutes. Young writers want to MAKE IT AS A WRITER, or they are LOSERS. To me success is a daily task. At best it varies from book to book, and though it would be nice to have security, at very least, these precarious conditions do make life interesting. I won’t deny that for most, this is a tough life. You really have to want it, but it can be rewarding.

 ~~ Arthur Nersesian, from "Words from the Wise"