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Writing Wednesday - Pure Drivel

The Kennedy Center dubs him "a Renaissance comic" and continues saying, "He is without doubt one of the most versatile and popular actors before the public, a performer with happy feet who wears many hats well beyond his signature arrow-through-the-head gear."

Pure Drivel was published in 1998. It is a collection of stories originally written for The New Yorker. The following is from the essay entitled "Writing Is Easy."

"Writing is one of the most easy, pain-free, and happy ways to pass the time in all the arts. For example, right now I am sitting in my rose garden and typing on my new computer. Each rose represents a story, so I am never at a loss for what to write. I just look deep into the heart of the rose and read its story and write it down through typing, which I enjoy anyway. I could be typing "kjfiu joewmv jiw" and would enjoy it as much as typing words that actually make sense. I simply relish the movement of my fingers on the keys. Sometimes, it is true, agony visits the head of a write. At these moments, I stop writing and relax with a coffee at my favorite restaurant, knowing that words can be changed, rethought, fiddled with, and, of course, ultimately denied. Painters don't have that luxury. If they go to a coffee shop, their paint dries into a hard mass."

Steve Martin shares his experience of writing Pure Drivel with Charlie Rose.

Come on, isn't writing that easy for you too?

Comments

  1. I never knew that Steve Martin wrote. That is a great piece by him. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  2. The only piece of his that I've read is Shopgirl, and I came to it after the masterful movie adapation. He's one of the few actors whose writing I really respect, so I'll have to chase down some of his other stuff.

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