Give It All

Annie Dillard's work "Write Till You Drop" was extremely inspirational to me. I have always loved to read but only recently have I gained a passion for writing. I have only written poetry which only seems right to me because I will pick up a book of, or on, poetry before anything else. Don't get me wrong, I love a great non-fictional piece of work or an Epic of sorts, but poetry is where my heart calls home. When Dillard quoted a poet saying, "One line of a poem, the poet said - only one line, but thank God for that one line - drops from the ceiling.", it really struck a chord with me because I know that feeling; whether it's in my own poetry or someone elses. I may be enjoying a poem but then BAM, you get ONE line, or two lines, that really just bring it all together and you can't help but nod and say, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes."  It has the potential to pull on every heart string, make you feel like you've been punched in the stomach, or make your heart race. This feeling is one I would not trade for anything.

I also really enjoyed how she pulled from all different aspects of art to inspire people to write. She quoted painters, sculptors, writers, scientists and even used sports as a parallel, which I could relate to. I do believe my favorite part of this work is the second to last paragraph: it left me breathless. "Spend it all" she says. Don't save anything for later because something more, something greater, will lend itself to you then. I have so often "saved" things for later pieces and most often never end up using them. It is a piece of advice that will stick with me throughout the rest of my life. 


I hope that most people find inspiration and courage to write after reading this, and if not in this than in something.

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