Dear World

Please Kill Me,

Greetings fellow literary wonderkins. For those who’ve just discovered this blog, “heads up” I get pretty pretentious.

I had a conversation today – I’m aware there’s nothing particularly special about that, in retrospect it was an annoyingly tedious one at best  (Don’t worry they don’t read my blog. For now their feelings will remain intact.)

Anyway, there was this nugget of it that sort of stuck with me. After the -at this point mandatory explantion about why I write ( novels, short stories, and obviously the blog.) their response was “What’s it all for?”

I’m not usually one to be at a loss for words, but for some reason (post my rant about whats the point of anything) this stuck with me.

Perhaps it was the blunt delivery, maybe it was the timing, whatever it was, it made me a tad emotional, that is of course until a semi-epiphanic (#beastvocab) moment grabbed me by the neck and screamed “Because you can, you idiot!” That was it; succinct and beautiful.

As creatives, we tend to chase the dragon of purpose and meaning. We’ve all been on that mental road trip -many times returning emptier than when we left. That insight allowed me to come down to this now obvious fact, no one else can do what I do.

Before anyone gets on their technical soapbox, let me explain. No matter a person’s similarity to another, common denominators, comparisons -we all do things differently. Anything (creative) you’ve ever seen was the distinct vision and creation of one unique artist. No voice is the same and subsequently no creation could ever be.

So “Because {we} can”, that’s the only reason we should ever need. It’s simplicity makes it difficult to spot, but it’s there, and it drives us. If anyone ever asks for an explanation, feel free to refer them to what you’ve made. Besides, that’s why we create isn’t it? The way we communicate, (in any artistic medium) is more often than not, the best, and most importantly, honest way we can.

Insightfully yours,

-Antwan Crump.