“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

John Green. John Green. Yeah I like John Green. I have been watching his and his brother’s videos for quite some time and they are often insightful and entertaining. I always look forward to new updates from them and they do a lot of decreasing world suck. But, and I almost hesitate to say anything, he is a little, how do I say it, well he is not the greatest writer who ever lived sometimes.

What I mean is that John Green produces a lot of thoughts in public media. Not all of those thoughts are perfect jems. I have not read all of what he has written and would certainly not judge him as a writer. I am reading his new book and it is great. Sometimes the dialogue rings a little hollow. Maybe it is just me and maybe it is not really there, but sometimes I think that I hear him when I shouldn’t. Then again I know what he sounds like more than any other author I have ever read. My point is simply that when you, Jen, put him up on a pedestal, I can’t help but find it a little strange because when I can see his flaws that makes me feel like I can do better. I mean it stands to reason if I see the ways in which he is successful and the ways that he might not be as successful, I can become better than him. In a way not only have I knocked him off of a pedestal , I have climbed up onto it using his body for support. This is, of course, bullshit.

Even if I had the talent that John Green has, which I must admit I do not, I would never, no matter the amount of time or effort , surpass him in achievement. John does more that write, he tells stories. More than that he is, at the very least, good at it. And more than that, people like his stories and people grow from his stories. His stories are important to people. There can be no higher goal for me as a storyteller than that. And I could hope for no better. There is no better.

Art and entertainment are peculiar forms of human communications because they look so unlike what they are. They may seem more one sided than most conversations but I don’t think they are. They are messages in bottles floating out in every direction. Whoever picks them up responds as surely as you would to me talking to you behind the counter at the store. They don’t respond back directly but with every emotion and behavior changed by the work. They may, God willing, send out real messages in bottles of their own. If art and entertainment is simply a kind of conversation, by the way, then they can range from anywhere to small talk to deeply personal heart to hearts. I think it is up to everyone to figure out when someone is talking at you or deeply invested in your life.

I think when stories are at their best they tell us what seems like a pretty good way to be looks like or what a pretty bad way to be looks like without telling us what a pretty good way to be is or what a pretty bad way to live is. They are most successful messages when they come from one personal viewpoint and they give us hope that we shouldn’t kill ourselves, even when the stories seem to suggest we should. This is all a little vague but my point is that art is mostly not about skill. It is mostly about the human stuff we do that isn’t inhumane, even when it is talking about the human stuff we do that is inhumane. The skill stuff is okay too but it just isn’t as important. Stories are a weird kind of friendship that tell you things you need to hear.

That’s why I love Kurt Vonnegut so much. He is certainly not the best writer around in terms of artistry but he has been a good friend. John Green, too, is a damn good friend to a ton of people and for that I am thankful that he is alive. No artist is ever perfect. Sometimes, if they are lucky, they can create a perfect piece of art. It takes a lot of luck and a lot of work, but it happens. But the hell with perfect as far as I can tell. That kind of thinking drives you crazy.

Thinking about heroes though, I can’t help but think about the command “ If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.” It has all kinds of resonance with me. But I think the most interesting thing about it, is the reflexive way it bends back on itself. Or rather you bend back on yourself. If it is true that we all have Buddha-nature, or if you prefer artist nature or hero nature, than we must equally kill ourselves. (Man, I think I use the phrase “kill ourselves” too much in this. How much is too much? I mean, technically, you can only do it once.) It is a humbling as well as an equalizing phrase. There are no heroes out there for you to look up to and you certainly have nothing to look down from. But since you are meeting heroes and peers and all that, how do you feel about it? What role do heroes play in your life? Are role models a good thing?

Have fun and don't be too good.

-James

P.S. John Green is fucking great. At all the things that he does. I am super jealous that you get to meet him like three times.