"Make interesting mistakes,
make amazing mistakes,
make glorious and fantastic mistakes.
And then.....
Husband runs off with a politician?
Make good art.
Leg crushed and then eaten by a mutated boa constrictor?
Make good art.
IRS on your trail?
Make good art.
Cat exploded?
Make good art."
Break rules.
Leave the world more interesting for your being here.
Make good art."
Neil Gaiman, from a commencement speech given at the
University of the Arts in Philadelphia, in May of 2012.
I found this quote in the book "Neil Gaiman the View from the Cheap Seats", a collection of his non-fiction - essays, speeches, book reviews, interviews, etc. The book came from our local library, so I must give it back, but the book impressed me so much that I intend to find a used copy on line and buy it. This review of the book by the journalist and author Caitlin Moran explains exactly why I want my own copy.
"If this book came to you during a despairing night, by dawn you would believe in ideas and hope and humans again. This is a beautiful book."
