Why writers don’t just write for themselves

When one tries to pinpoint why human beings create abstract strings of words that do not clothe them or provide them with shelter, it is as if one asks why man breathes or why he loves. Funny is it not? According to eminent American Psychologist Abraham Maslow, “a musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself”. But many writers do not create for themselves alone. With the exception of a few writers and Poets like Emily Dickinson, who left instructions to have her poems burned upon her death, most authors seek publication, financial compensation, and even fame for their works. In these cases, a relationship between the writer and the audience is implicit; the writers need the audience to accomplish their goals. John Kennedy Toole heralded by many, including the Pultzer Prize Committee, who gave their award to him posthumously in 1981, was one of the greatest authors of last century, he committed suicide in 1969 after he failed to find a publisher for his work. It was not enough for him just to have written the masterpiece “Confederacy of Dunces”, he had to have some validation of his chosen occupation of author. After all, one does not join the ranks of Hemingway, Dostoevsky and Dante just by penning words to paper—one must have critical acclaim, one must have public accolades and one must have, above all readers. I am not sure how many people would commit suicide on account of their manuscripts not being published! Ah, the reader, that lifeblood of many a writer. Here in Rwanda, there is some optimism on the increasing number of readers. Readers have been as rare as a white rhino. I guess you know why. But let us not digress a little from our subject. What responsibility does the writer have to his reader? John Steinbeck was clear on this point when he observes, “from the beginning, their functions, their duties, their responsibilities have been decreed by our species. The writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man’s proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit—for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love”. Not all fiction strives for such heights; some novelists are content with giving voice to political ideas or exposing fantastic imaginations. And yet there is responsibility to the subject of the work as well, if the author is to make good on his or her duty to the reader. The term “poetic license” does not excuse a writer of fiction from misrepresenting a country or a people that live and exist. If a writer took liberty with the reputation of a man, there might very well be charges of libel; the same should be true of the reputation of a nation or an ethnic group. Writers can “celebrate man’s proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit “if they cannot accept that men with darker skin than his own do not have such capacity. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote: “To have something to say is a question of sleepless nights and worry and endless ratiocination of subject—of endless trying to dig out the essential truth, the essential justice. As a first premise you have to develop a conscience and if on top of that you have a talent without the conscience, you are just one of many thousands of journalists”. In Rwanda those who attempt to perform the unenviable task of putting pen to paper are in an awkward position. While it remains the author’s responsibility to the reader, the reader too has a responsibility to put the writer to task over what he or she feels has not been correctly or objectively portrayed. I have heard murmurs of discontent from readers on issues that are raised by writers. Those in the trade of writing I believe would be more than delighted to engage in some form of discourse with their esteemed readers. It is only through this means that together we can begin to generate meaningful dialogue for the betterment of our society. The writer is a consultant and visiting lecturer at Senior Command and Staff College, Nyakinama

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Why writers don’t just write for themselves