Don’t give up. Never give up. When life gets you down and things aren’t going your way, just remember that there is always hope. You can achieve something important and make a meaningful impact on other people’s lives.
Even if you have made mistakes and poor choices in your life; even if you are not well-known or well-liked in your own time; even if you have been ostracized and vilified by your community: these distinctions place you in the company of the greats, people like Ovid, Dante, Sir Thomas Malory, and Emily Dickinson.
This series will discuss some of history’s greatest writers, poets, and playwrights who suffered disfavor or obscurity in their own lifetimes. Their life stories demonstrate the point that “meritocracy” is a myth (or at best, unreliable). Traditional “success” is not a measure of greatness. Creative genius and “success” are not the same thing. You might be one of the most brilliant creators of your era and yet die in obscurity, having never made a living from the work that you will be remembered for, as happened to Herman Melville and so many others.
I hope this series will provide inspiration to aspiring artists, authors, poets, and playwrights. No matter what happens, there is still hope. Keep going, keep trying, keep creating, keep doing!
As Aragorn said just before the vast army of orcs stormed Helm’s Deep: “There is always hope.”
