Author: Dan Steven Erickson

On Profanity

In the past, I’ve used profanity in my writing. You’ll find a variety of cuss words in the books of my Cult Trilogy, in much of my poetry, and spattered throughout posts on my old websites. For that I do not apologize.

I will not promise to refrain from ever using profanity here. After all, words are just words. As long as I use profanity in a manner that’s not directed at the reader, or a specific person or group of people, it really shouldn’t matter. For the most part, I’ve only used profanity in character, or as adjectives to describe my own thoughts and feelings, or to describe a thing, place, or incident.

I don’t believe that art should be censored. Although, I do believe that great artists can communicate without using profanity, that doesn’t mean they always should. Sometimes an occasional cuss word is the right word for the situation or the moment, like when you stub your toe in the middle of the night.

As a poet, I like to dance in that space between the holy and the profane, finding inspiration from both of those worlds. That is the space in which I live, work, and play. Profanity may be an occasional part of the dance. – dse

Everything Is Temporary

why do you worry so much
about this and that and the other thing?
everything is temporary.
everything you see will one day
be gone: the birds, the houses,
the cars, the trees, everything.

why do you try to change that which
is unchangeable? everything is
temporary: your work, your play,
your creation, the heart that only
beats for so long, until it stops,
and then for what will riches matter?

listen to the wind and the waves,
the old mighty ones, older than all
who might dare to die to themselves
before death takes them by force.
why do you worry so much
about this and that? everything is
temporary and set upon its course.

Truth

As a writer, I’m concerned with truth. What is truth? Who decides what truth is? Is there an absolute truth? Does my truth and your truth differ?

First, truth is what can be proven either right or wrong. Second, truth is in the mind of each individual. I decide what is true for me. You decide what is true for you. Does that make either of us absolutely right? Not necessarily. So then, we’re wrong? Not exactly.

What about the absolute? Day and night exist. Rain falls. We all live on a planet we call Earth. Absolutes? Maybe. But when you bring religion or God into the equation, no one really has a grip on absolute truth. I don’t care who you are or what arguments or references you use. From a purely logical perspective they will fall short.

As a writer, how do I deal with truth? It’s simple. I attempt to be as honest as I can. Keep in mind, however, that my idea of truth can change, as can yours. But to express through the written word how I’m feeling in the moment, that’s my truth, and to me that’s what really matters. That makes for honest writing.

This might sound strange, but even fiction is truth. Great writers can make up stories, elaborate, embellish, exaggerate, even outright lie, and still be telling the truth. Universal truth.

Of course, that’s just my take on it all. I might be full of it. – dse

Boredom

I’m not one to get bored easily. I keep myself busy with a variety of hobbies and activities. However, one reason I tend to constantly seek change in my creative work is quite likely a result of a kind of boredom.

I’ve started and deleted at least half a dozen blogs. I have four more scheduled to be phased out soon. In the past, I switched songwriting genres several times, and now I’m primarily composing experimental electronic music.

Am I inconsistent? Discontented? Not really.

Truth is, doing the same things over and over leads to artistic boredom.

They say you should learn the rules of any creative task before you break them. I’m not sure I completely agree with that statement, but I do make a point to learn the rules of my craft. Then I look for ways to change things up a little bit, make my work more interesting, different.

After one writes 500 verses, bridges, and choruses, even with a variety of unique variations, things start to get a little dull. 500 blog posts? It all leads to getting burned out on the whole shebang and I want something new, fresh.

This is why I like the experimental music genre. It allows one to break out of the boredom of formula. It’s also why I sometimes use profanity in my writing. Nothing like a few curse words to spice things up, right?

Artistic boredom is real. When we work within the confines of specific cultural expectations, we can feel obliged to do things according to the norms of an industry, of society. But I want to explore the fringes, go beyond the expected.

Isn’t that what great artists do? Create the new? The profound?

As I get older, anything other than striving for artistic individuality and greatness leads to boredom. Is it just me? – dse

Out of the Radio Static

Have you ever listened to the radio static? Not much there is there? Maybe that’s the point. It’s white noise. It’s free of information. With the endless amounts of information we’re fed these days, perhaps a small dose of radio static is like medicine.

In composing music as Anderhill, one thing I’ve practiced is using audio samples of everyday sounds. Washing machines, the hum of an air conditioner, and radio static have all found their way into the music. I established this practice of weaving white noise into the music by my second Anderhill release, Out of the Radio Static.

White noise and droning sounds have a meditative quality about them. Random bleeps, crackles, and glitches make for slightly quirky music. – dse

Archive Page

What can I say? I’m a sucker for an archive page.

When I started this site, I wasn’t planning on doing so much writing to the news feed as I am. Nothing is going quite as planned. But it’s okay. I think I like where this is going. I also swore to myself that I wouldn’t add an archive page to this site.

It’s a little extra work. So what? I’m going to do it anyway.

Although I’m trying to steer clear of the title of blogger since starting this site, I’ve often looked to minimalist bloggers like Leo Babauta and Brian Gardner for website-design inspiration. Most of my favorite bloggers, from a design perspective, include an archive page.

I’ve included archive pages on most of my older websites. There’s just something about that simple organization that appeals to me. It makes it easy to access all of one’s articles from a single place.

I’ve been creating an archive page in the background since I started the site. Keep an eye out for it. – dse