From the Starving Artists File

"The financial success of an author is inversely proportional to the literary worth of the book. Take the authors of the Bible. Those garment-rending saps ate cockroach dung in caves in the Gaza desert and scrawled tortured epiphanies on papyrus before being stoned to death or dying of plagues. Or Herman Melville, who barely staved off debts by assessing tariffs on crates of imported wool in New York Harbor for twenty years. Meanwhile Pamela McLaughlin, whose books can be read and forgotten in the time it takes for ordered Chinese food to arrive, flies in a private helicopter to the Caribbean island she owns. She named it-- and this is not a joke, I read it in Vanity Fair-- 'Bellissima Haven.'"-Steve Hely, How I Became a Famous Novelist

Wealthy Poets: The Riches of the Artistic Life

Over at The Life Poetic, a fellow writer, Sage Cohen, puts the "broke and beautiful" life in poetic terms arguing that "starving poets" should stop buying into the notion that artists are supposed to struggle and that less money equals less wealth. (Remember the origin of the world "wealth" is simply "well being" and you don't need money to have it.)

If we don’t question the popular paradigm that aligns “wealth” with money and we make the pursuit of cash a primary goal, we may find that we have little time left over for poetry. And on the flip side, if we neglect our material needs in pursuit of a life poetic, we are likely to end up in real, uninspiring distress.

But if we agree that a prosperous life is one with time to literally and figuratively smell the roses, and then luxuriate in the time to write about it, then we are establishing a root system for a new “poetry of prosperity” — one which we feed and water with our attention and our words. By recognizing, welcoming and prioritizing both our material and creative needs, we have a far better chance of striking a balance that feels like true wealth and can sustain us over the long term.

While you're at it, you can visit Cohen's blog at Writing the Life Poetic.

I'll Trade You a Sonet for a Sonogram...

Via The Rumpus I learned about an innovative project that allowed artists without healthcare to barter their talents for medical services:

Organizers of a festival recently held in Kingston, N.Y.—the O+Festival of Art, Music + Wellness—brought together “about 40 doctors, dentists, physical therapists, acupuncturists, and others [who] donated 232 hours of service, valued at more than $38,000, to the bands and artists who played or created sculptures or paintings.” (via Business Week)

Vote for the Best Busker: The String Edition

Which of these street performers is your favorite? Share your opinion in the comments.

Electric Violin: Chester, UK



Guitar: Venice, Italy



String Trio: Brittany, France



Guitar Duo: Mallorca, Spain



Whatever This Is: Venice, Italy

Vote for the Best Drum Busker

Here are the contestants. Which is your favorite? Post in the comments.

From New York City:



From Miami:



From Amsterdam:



From San Francisco: