Customer Reviews

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

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Peter Clothier's "Persist" 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. Highly recommended.

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, May 11

"Creative activity arises from the desire to share oneself with others - a desire too often left unrequited, with dires consequences for the creative psyche." ~ pg. 26

Peter Clothier loves writing and art and knows a great deal about the survival of the creative spirit. He has written the essays in this collection for musicians, actors, dancers, painters, sculptures, photographers and writers. He starts his book with an essay on his life as a writer and then discusses many topics like blogging, technology, the Louvre, favorite artists, meditation, discipline, inner critics, travels abroad and poetry. With each topic he reveals wisdom he has learned from experience. I felt that his best essay was "On Beauty." What I noticed mostly was how Peter Clothier had profound insights into the human experience. This book can really be enjoyed by anyone and I found it calming, healing and enlightening.

~The Rebecca Review

Everyone in the creative arts is eventually faced with self- examination as to why one should continue with his or her art form, especially in light of meager praise or financial reward.

Relying on years of experience as a professional and published writer, Peter Clothier, in his book, provides an inspirational resource for those who may be losing heart.

I highly recommend his book.

A well written book that speaks to anyone who has lingering doubts about their own 'art of living' and creative pursuits.
I highly recommend the simple and easily to 'persist' with meditation exercises.
Peter is a no nonsense writer that challenges the glaring commerciality in our western culture.
His personal account of his life as an art writer (not critic) is inspirational.
He writes from an authentic place that is soothing and encouraging to the artist in all of us.

Les Sinclair

Reading this book was very exciting. I felt as if I were eavesdropping on a conversation and although I could hear only one side, what I gleaned was what I had needed for a long time.

I would love to write a normal book review because I highly recommend PERSIST... to anyone struggling with being an artist "in a world gone mad with commerce." But if there's a review in me, it keeps slipping away, into feelings of hope, joy, and delight. However, I can point to a few things I found especially useful.

One was hearing about the experience of someone who has worked both sides of the fence. Clothier tells us about how he "wore the critic's mantle" for many years, and was paid to do so. He goes into some detail about what this was like for him, and what the world of criticism is like on the inside. He is also a poet and novelist who has had to fight to persist in his creative work (his recognition here has been considerable, but less than he'd hoped for.)

A second useful point is that while I am not a Buddhist or planning to become one, Clothier's descriptions of how this practice helps him were helpful in making me more aware of the ways in which I center and ground myself. In describing the kind of community that supports his creativity, he made me think about what kinds of relationships support mine.

Last but certainly not least, reading this book led to a wonderful dream, one that contained a guiding light.