Persist: In Praise of the Creative Spirit in a World Gone Mad with Commerce

by Peter Clothier

Persist: In Praise of the Creative Spirit in a World Gone Mad with Commerce is a collection of essays spanning thirty years of engagement with the culture of our times. Peter Clothier is a long-time student of the dharma and a meditation practitioner. In this context he examines the qualities of compassion, perseverance, and discernment in his reflections on the artist s predicament in a world that judges success in terms of celebrity and material reward. Persist explores ways today's artists in any medium can find fulfillment, a sense of purpose, and joy in alternative and more lasting values.

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2010

About the author

Peter Clothier is an internationally-known writer who specializes in writing about art and artists. He believes in avoiding the jargon that obscures much current writing about art, and in writing simply, clearly, in language that the lay person can readily understand. He seeks to achieve a harmony of mind, heart, and body in his work, and looks for this quality in the artists he writes about. A reformed academic, now fifteen years in recovery, he has returned in recent years to teaching, in mostly non-traditional ways: in workshops, continuing groups, and individual coaching and mentoring for artists and writers.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not an artist, per se. Nevertheless, I found this little book to be profound and useful.

It relies on a bit of Buddhist philosophy for its premise, which is fine with me. It even includes some easy breathing exercises that offer a good beginner's guide to meditation.

I believe that, for those who worry about the effect of the "military-industrial complex," on our daily lives, our values and our culture, a mode of opposition is starting to develop that is more effective than the sixties-style counter-culture.

This mode is less angry, more pragmatic, and more humble. I think this is the attitude that President Obama takes to politics, and it is also how Peter Clothier writes about doing battle against the fame-obsessed and greedy world of professional art (visual art, music, etc.)

The book is full of ways to re-think the notion of success so that we don't conceive of ourselves as failures if we can't "make it big." The author is nudging us backward in time (way, way, back perhaps), to when artists did their work to entertain and inspire their fellow humans. If we stay true to ourselves, help each other out, and "persist," we will end up feeling fulfilled, even if we can't give up our day jobs.

These are finely-written, even beautiful essays gently prodding us to choose authenticity.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bandages, Vulnerability, and Creativity

Peter Clothier is alarmingly wise, committed, honest, and vibrant an artist. His passion in life is writing: his passion has positively affected more artists than is calculable. Though he has been a teacher and administrator of some of our more important art institutions - be they schools or journals or lecture circuits - he is first and foremost a poet. Yes, he has written several books of poetry and that is one of the many tangents he addresses in this book of collected essays from the past thirty years, a book fully titled PERSIST IN PRAISE OF THE CREATIVE SPIRIT IN A WORLD GONE MAD WITH COMMERCE: he reflects on the fact that though poetry is not a 'commercially viable' means of life, it is an obligation to the creative spirit to continue to write.

Not that this book is about poetry and the act of writing poetry (though every essay in this sensitive collection could be viewed as poetic), but that is a starting point for Clothier. What his life of observation and meditation has allowed him to discover is the need for the creative spirit process to be free from the influence of the judgment of critics, those who would advise against careers that do not assure financial independence, and those blithe naysayers that consider an artist of any form successful only if he/she becomes famous and wealthy. Clothier admits that much of his success as an influence on artists, be they writers, poets, painters, film makers, photographers, sculptors or what other means of releasing the creative spirit, comes from his devotion to meditation. Breathing, cleansing the mind to focus and to realize not only the importance of the gift of being creative but also the personal obligation to pursue that spirit of creativity despite the degree of applause from the world at large or those to whom success is judged by superficial standards.

'Breathing out, breathing in...When you think of it, this in itself is nothing more than inspiration. That done, I have several mental strategies I deploy to get back into the process of creation. Because that's what it's about: creative work is never about saying something. It's about process. It's a dance, an interaction with medium, no matter what your medium might be: words, paint, clay, song, or musical notes.' Eloquent thoughts simply stated are what fill the pages of this fine book. Clothier touches on the growing plague of commerce and its effect on artists, on criticism as evaluated by his own noted career as an art critic, allowing (no, insisting) on conquering the ability to say 'no' that allows artists to remain focused on the obligation of nurturing the creative spirit, on discipline and its importance in sifting out the detritus of living to allow the flow of creativity, a beautiful and brief space called 'What to say when there's nothing to say' that places the reader back in touch with life experiences from the distant and immediate past denying that there is no such thing as having nothing to say, the possible demise of books and even visual art in the age of Internet communication that can be either salacious and wasteful or an open window to discovering a higher level of creativity. And that is only a sampling of the thoughts that 'dance' through this book.

PERSIST is balm for the artists struggling with the search for a credo to continue what their spirit requires they do - create. But this book is also an invaluable tool for laymen in gaining and understanding the nature of creativity and the need for the creative spirit to survive no matter how besmirched the global recession/depression threatens our continued civilization. Clothier loves art and artists and is even more of a spiritual guide than he recognizes. We can only hope that he follows his own empowering advice and continues to publish words such as these. Quoting Rumi 'Keep your eyes on the bandaged place. In creative work - for me, particularly, in writing - I understand this to mean probing into those areas where we are most exposed and vulnerable.' That is the port of creativity, and that is Peter Clothier's nurturing advice to all artists that despite all external chaos and noise, Persist.

Grady Harp

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A survival guide for artists so they do not loose or have their goals forgotten.
The Persist Sprint can be applied to others to help give them persistence.
A must read.
TWO THUMBS UP

[Mike Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best descriptions of the art consciousness I've come across:

"...I trust you'll understand that in talking about the role of the heart in telling me who you are, I am not advocating some simple-minded notion of sincerity. Those who follow the path of personal sincerity too often end up with nothing more than sentimental pap. I'm looking for something sterner, something more rigorous, the kind of self-examination that is unafraid to explore even - perhaps especially- those parts of ourselves we would not wish to have known, perhaps even to ourselves. It's an approach that involves personal risk and at the same time integrates every aspect of what it means to be a human being. The word for what it is that I'm looking for is something more like integrity."

"...So when I speak of the integrity I'm looking for in a painting, the aspect to which I say unequivocally "Yes!" When I see it, it's very precisely within the balance of these qualities (the physical, the intellectual, the emotional, and, for want of a better word, the spiritual." ) Pp 100-101

This book is really a collection of fragments. Clothier calls them essays, but the pieces are short, simple, concise and heart-crafted. They feel quick; as he says somewhere in here, "it doesn't have to be difficult."

Many of these essays speak directly to my own experience, and, I suppose, at one point or another, I have given thought to much of what he says. For instance, he recalls a situation, at a writer's workshop where the leader of the group asks him about what thing it is that he (Clothier) thinks holds him back. His reply, he thought seriously about this, was something about using his busyness as an excuse for not writing more. The facilitator said that he thought that this was an effect, not a cause, and then asked Clothier if he could recall his earliest memory. Clothier replied that, when he was born, his umbilical cord was around his neck, and that he almost died at birth. The facilitator than said, "So you don't believe you deserve to be here, right?" I choked up at this because it was such a moment of raw, painful honesty. Regardless of the author's motivation in doing so, sharing this was very authentic and very courageous and very generous. I found that spirit of generosity throughout the book.

Persist is short, requiring very little commitment except coming to it with an open mind and spirit. Not saying it will help every creative, but it's bound to contain at least a little solace for all of us who are along the long road.

[Garrett Dunnington · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such a quick read, this book does more than inform. I think Clothier combines information and a subtle and comprehensive method on how to thrive in this world as an artist in any form: musician, painter, writer and poet.
With his empirical background, I think he has a lot to say in such a tiny book. He doesn't beat me over the head, and his writing style simply does not bore me. At the same time, I think because it is an indie book, he writes passages from his blog as well as lectures which I haven't encountered before in a book. Not so experimental, but the word I think is innovative. I didn't feel like this was another one of those books that you simply buy because it was published by an unknown author, it's worth the 15 I would say. I think the best things that can be said are the simplest methods, and this method does not indoctrinate or force you out of your comfort zone. When he describes the meditation practice, he invites you and exposes the whole magic of doing this daily, as well as the rewards of doing so.
It's a very positive message and he doesn't tell you that you shouldn't create something to please an audience, but he means a whole different perspective than I have read about before, that we should create in order to be happy and content with our financial hardships and open to rejection. Which I have heard from many people I have talked to, it felt so good to be reminded of this though.
This book suits and tries to encourage living young at heart and strong at mind. Community and becoming used to and aware of oneself is also something he suggests. I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it for those who not only are creative but even for those who are gifted in technique and analysis. I wonder how far someone could take this book, and I can't imagine that anyone wouldn't be able to apply it.

[Gregg Chadwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Clothier's "Persist: In Praise of the Creative Spirit in a World Gone Mad with Commerce" arrives at the perfect time. As the art world tries to reinvent itself in the current economic malaise, Clothier's book inspires us to see the soul and spirit inherent in the creative process. Money may not be the root of all evil but it is the root of a lot of bad art. Peter Clothier challenges artists, writers, actors and filmmakers to value artistic process as a goal in itself rather than a path to wealth and power. Most of all, Clothier urges us to keep on creating - to never give up. The world would be a lesser place without the arts. A beautiful, inspiring book. Highly recommended.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved many parts of this book and I'd recommend it highly to artists, writers, and other creative types. The author ties together his experiences as an academic, art observer, and writer with his studies of Buddhist philosophy and practice, as well as voicing some of his left-leaning political views. I found many of his observations helpful and his points sharp and well-argued, even if his self-identification with the under-appreciated, struggling artists of the world simply did not ring true to me at times. At it's best parts, however, it reads like a valiant manifesto leading the charge towards a new and better way of being. I found it inspiring.

[Sabr!na · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm hesitant to give any book 5 stars because, by my definition, that means it must be pretty close to perfect. However, this book was very exceptional. Clothier's voice sincere and intelligent thoughout his practical and inspiring essays. The book was a quick read too; he manages to say a lot in such few words. He brings up important ideas that should be addressed in our modern, fast paced world; this book helped me see that creativity and persistance are necessary for our true success.

[Virginia Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wets my appetite for more from this author. just the title alone is worth contemplating.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my review of Persist here!

[Sigrun Hodne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book on creativity!