Throughout her life, Jesmyn Ward has experienced an awful string of grave events: childhood bullying, her younger brother being stricken by a drunk driver in October of 2000, and having her life upheaved by hurricane Katrina. Ward has felt immense grief -- it has repeatedly manifested across many aspects of her life; however, she does not allow it to control her. Two of her works, Where the Line Bleeds and Men We Reaped -- although set and described in different perspectives -- demonstrate Ward's usage of her grief towards creating unprecedented works of art, just as Nick Cave describes in Faith, Hope, and Carnage the inspirations and processes behind his own production of Ghosteen.
Ward describes her creative process in an extremely similar context to that of Cave's own musical auditing sessions. When she teaches undergraduates the art of creative writing, she strives to convey "what a process it is and how there’s an entire group of people working together to revise your work, to refine your work, before it ever reaches an audience." [1] This falls directly in line with Cave's discussion of arriving to the recording studio with the complete intention of changing, breaking apart, or outright deleting lyrics which he had previously thought to be perfect -- all through the process of collaborating with his co-songwriter.
Jesmyn Ward's Where the Line Bleeds connects in a great level to Cave's own exploration of where grief takes both the mind and the soul. As the two main characters struggle to find their footing on account of interpersonal struggles and societal biases, they must similarly contend with the encroaching thoughts of grief at the notion of their parents abandoning them; Cave discusses this feeling from an alternative perspective when describing the immense pain he felt on learning of his son's passing. The impact which grief has on the mind can neither be succinctly communicated nor given a quantitative duration: the experience alters one's perceptions, compelling oneself to view the world -- and one's interactions with it -- in a wholly new way; often, though the lens of how different life feels, despite the outside world seemingly continuing without faltering for even a moment.
Men We Reaped, on the other hand, strikes more precisely at Nick Cave's own descriptions of alienation. Although certainly not the same -- the former underlining the turmoil of poverty, sexism and racism while the latter discusses the struggle of creating something untested and unpredictable while fueled by grief -- both individuals describe the process of becoming alienated. Grief drives one to great lengths, and may form divides -- whether intentionally on the behalf of the individual, or as a result of outside influence -- between oneself and the world.
Both Ward and Cave demonstrate their creative expertise not through repressing their pain, but through fully embracing it. Their artwork is tangibly hefty in content, and is so without being cautious of shocking the audience -- in fact, the works are intended to leave an impact. Without the impact, the grief cannot be properly conveyed; both Cave and Ward discuss the feeling of necessity to incorporate the "souls" of those they have lost into their works. Through the art, their loved ones persist -- our interactions with the art keep them alive.
[1] Interview with Jesmyn Ward:
https://electricliterature.com/how-jesmyn-ward-brings-writing-to-life/
I really enjoyed reading your post, and especially how you point out the different ways in which Ward and Cave write about their experiences of grief. The idea that our interactions with their art as an audience keeps their loved ones alive is so beautiful and reading this post has convinced me to try one of Jesmyn Ward's books!
ReplyDeleteI like how Jesmyn Ward channels grief as her source of inspiration, demonstrating how severe loss can inspire rather than inhibit creativity. Ward's ability to turn personal grief into art that pays tribute to the people she lost and forms a connection with those going through similar hardships is admirable. Moreover, Ward's work serves as a reminder of how emotional experiences can inspire individuals to produce creative work that can express both pain and hope. I find the duality of that really interesting. I love how you compare Jesmyn Ward's work to Nick Cave's because it shows two different channels of creativity through pain and offers a wider perspective of how loss can feed the urge to create something.
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