Comments on: On Making a Living Doing What You Love

By: Rick Lowe

Rick Lowe — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 01:17:38 +0000

How can you write when you have been celebrating at Carifesta!
Some intersting observations as usual Nico.
Don’t be discouraged, all things come in time.
Maybe if we ever have an educational system that works more people will come to appreciate literature.
Keep it up.

By: Bob Knaus

Bob Knaus — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 18:40:02 +0000

I assume the issue is that the Bahamas is inimicable to Bahamian writing, and not to writing in general? It seems to me that if one were a romance novelist (for instance) a cottage in the Out Islands might offer just the isolation and beauty needed to crank out another best-seller.

I submit a different explanation for the perceived lack of cultural identity: Bahamians are too busy getting ahead to have much time for the arts.

Poor people have extra time on their hands, and so do the well-off. In Greece, Italy, and Britian art flourished in eras of wealth and leisure. America’s greatest contribution to the arts — jazz — came from the poverty of the south, an escape from the hopelessness of a world that had little opportunity.

What about the well-known Bahamian contributions to the arts — calypso, rake-n-scrape, Junkanoo? Are these the products of wealth, or of poverty? Of course you know the answer.

When Bahamians have achieved the prosperity they are currently struggling for, I predict you will see a new flourishing of the arts in these islands. By teaching the arts to children, you plant the seeds that will blossom one day.

Don’t be discouraged — you’re doing an important thing!

By: Geoffrey Philp

Geoffrey Philp — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 13:18:09 +0000

Dear Nicolette,

Greetings!

No, I’m not at Carifesta. If I were, then I would have made sure to see you.

Blessings,
Geoffrey

By: Charmaine

Charmaine — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 00:44:29 +0000

I think if all Bahamians were able to make a living by doing what they love, we would see a general rise in the level of competence. I believe many of our industries suffer from mediocrity because most of the persons working in the industry treat it as just a job; there is no passion for the work.

When we look at the arts specifically, if we do not let our artists (be they writers, musicians, actors, dancers, whatever) work at their craft full time, we will continue to see our own culture diluted by outside influences. The claim is made that we lack our own cultural identity, and this claim will continue to have some merit as long as we do not allow the Bahamian artist to be creative.

By: Nicolette Bethel

Nicolette Bethel — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:43:52 +0000

Geoffrey, thanks! Thanks for dropping by and for linking. You in Florida or are you in T&T for CARIFESTA?

By: Geoffrey Philp

Geoffrey Philp — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:48:20 +0000

Dear Nicolette,

But you are writing. What do you call this blog?

Congratulations!