by Evan Perez
2/6/2023
English 110
The City College of NewYork
Professor Vicars
The Creative Process: Response
Born in Harlem, New York in 1924, James Baldwin was a well-known author and civil rights activist who wrote plays and novels in a semi-autobiographical style based on race and politics. One of his most notable pieces, The Creative Process, talks about not only what it means to be an artist, but what it means to be human. In this essay, I will give an interpretation of some of the main ideas and things that stuck out to me in this piece.
A big theme that I noticed throughout the piece was the theme of being alone and how it carries a daunting and negative connotation. The author juxtaposes this negative connotation by saying that it is necessary for an artist to endure the discomfort of being alone, as that’s where a man can find answers about himself. The author mentions that “Most of us are not compelled to linger with the knowledge of our aloneness, for it is a knowledge that can paralyze all action in this world.” What I believe the author is saying is that the reason why loneliness might be so discomforting is that when alone, we often think deeply, which may lead to an existential crisis or latching onto intrusive thoughts and self-checking. To avoid this discomfort, people may distract themselves by socializing, reading, drawing, etc. As it is mentioned later “There are so many things one would rather not know!”. The artist, however, must explore this discomfort in the creative process as that is where the artist can get inspiration and think deeply about what they want to express in their art, whether that is music or visual art. If the artist wants to create new and honest art, they have to step out of the comfort that is created in socializing because when we socialize, we “[modify] and [suppress] and, ultimately, without great courage, [lie] to oneself about all one’s interior-”. As an artist myself, I would not be able to formulate some of the ideas that I want to express if I did not spend time alone, as the person that I present to others is almost never the true me that has spent the time pondering and looking deeper inside myself.
Something that stuck out to me in this piece was the author’s emphasis on “-the artist’s responsibility to his society.” I didn’t quite understand what this meant at first but after reading the entire piece, I think I have an idea. Since the author mentions the frightening nature of being alone and the artist having to face this loneliness, I believe the author is saying that it is the calling of the artist to explore the frightening nature of our deeper thoughts as to give a voice to ideas that otherwise would be kept silent if everyone avoided loneliness, to “illuminate the darkness” and “reveal all he can possibly discover concerning the mystery of the human being.”
What I interpret is that despite the darkness that comes with loneliness, there is an aspect of suffering that is admirable and beautiful. This contrast of light and dark is a common element in art, in the absence of light, there is a complementary side that is alluring and demands to be marveled at, but it would not be so without the darkness. As the author describes it, “-the aloneness in which one discovers that life is tragic, and therefore unutterable beautiful.”
