"Localism" and the return of the small book shop.
Of course, it's hardly a surprise for book lovers. How could something so good and so brilliant as a place to meet, mate, and meander (how many love stories started in a bookshop?) melt away? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/small-bookstores-are-booming-after-nearly-being-wiped-out-small-business-saturday/? See you there. Deborah Deborah Claire Procter - Artistic Director & Mentor Clear Insight Productions | Cynyrchiadau Gweledigaeth Glir New ways of being, doing and knowing | Ffyrdd newydd o fod, gwneud a gwybod
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Tonight, Wednesday 9th November, USA Elections 2016 - like many I don't feel like I understand anything. So I reach back into my mind to a book I read many years ago by Jonathan Raban called "Bad Land." The critically acclaimed book takes the rarely told story of the journey of European immigrants that were sold the enterprising idea of rich farming lands in the state of Montana. The story is of dreams, homesteaders, railroads, promises, false propaganda, drought, and desperation of people misled and abandoned. Tonight as the world faces a new chapter, it is a book that sticks in my minds as strongly as images like Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother", Grant Wood's "American Gothic", "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper, or even more viscerally the iconic "Christina’s World" by Andrew Newell Wyeth. I'm reaching for a horizontal but like for the people in Raban's "Bad Land" there is no horizon just a dizzying empty sky line. As quoted in a Guardian article about his book set in Alaska, "Passage to Juneau", “Journeys,” says Raban, somewhere towards the end of Passage to Juneau, “hardly ever disclose their true meaning until after – and sometimes years after – they’re over.” This journey is going to take a lot of time to understand. Turning to art is perhaps our best resource in times like these as Sigmund Frued said, “Everywhere I go I find a poet has been there before me.” In this case Jonathan Raban in 1997 told stories than we need to go back towards and revisit just as he did, in which case the Los Angeles Times prediction will be true when they said; "Championship prose. . . . In fifty years don't be surprised if Bad Land is a landmark." I certainly think so.
Answer - the art of copywriting. You know when you stumble across something that is really basic but makes perfect sense. I figured out a while ago about the importance of re-looking at communicating on the arts from getting really bored by the copywriting sent out by much of the classical music industry and un-subscribing from an emailing list. Alongside this, my fascination with how to attract audiences to "new" work or "contemporary" material when these have become dirty words makes me super keen to learn more about the art and craft of writing that moves. Long time back I discovered Seth Godin's inspiring thoughts on how to create ideas that circulate, and he continues to be one of the most important voices in the field whose daily email I relish. But this week I made another unexpected leap forward by receiving information from writer's coach Shelley Hitz about an online copywriting summit with some of the best of the best. I love to hear it from the horses mouth so I was thrilled. The summit is led by Ray Edwards who is most famous for being able to combine faith and ethics in writing sales copy that is authentic and isn't too pushy or salesy. He is known as the man who has created money-getting copy for business leaders like Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Jeff Walker, and Stu McLaren. Plus he has a really impressive list of New York Times best-selling authors, entrepreneurs, and achievers. What's more, he is a really enthusiastic and generous guy who has gathered 30 of the best copywriters on the planet to teach you their freshest insights, tools, and techniques… All at no charge. What is also wonderful is that the interviews are are not “pitch interviews” – far from it! It is all really valuable material and great conversations that take advantage of Ray Edwards years in radio.
Having listened to the first six days of the summit I've just added a book to my reading list after hearing the talk by the author and star of copywriting and marketing, Jay Abraham. Having listened to the first six days of the summit I've just added a book to my reading list after hearing the talk by the author and star of copywriting and marketing, Jay Abraham. Abraham's book is called The CEO Who Sees Around Corners. It is all about hindsight, insight and foresight - my cup of tea! The blurb on Amazon says; "Jay Abraham and Carlos Dias wrote this book for CEOs and senior executives who want to lead their organizations onto a better path for success in a fast-moving, turbulent world. The CEO Who Sees Around Corners introduces the powerful theories, mental models, and proven processes you need to reset your business to succeed in non-linear times." Abraham talks in the interview with Ray Edwards about how to be pre-eminent in your field by finding out what's driving your heart and soul, and of the power of making small progressive movements. Ray Edwards has given a huge gift with these interviews that are so packed with insights so it is well worth jumping in immediately. If you know very little about copywriting - like I did - but love writing, and know how powerful a skill it is to be able to reach new audiences, and bring big crowds to your events and your business, then I strongly recommend this as both a starting point / crash course. Just by listening, I feel that I have upped my game as a communicator - in fact I feel a bit more nervous writing today because I recognise even more the power and the beauty of words. How else would I have heard about names like Ben Settle, David Garfinkel, John Carlton, Kevin Rogers, Brian Kurtz, Bond Halbert, Pauline Longdon and many many more. In the arts there can sometimes be a suspicion that advertising smacks of manipulation. However when it means reaching out to one more person who can benefit from access to the arts, then I feel it is an essential skill to develop and develop and develop and develop....
About the Author: Procter is an independent artist and thinker working in the area of production, strategy, and development in the arts and culture sector. She is a multimedia artist and has worked for companies like Theatre Alibi and Centre for Performance Research. With over 30 years of experience in the arts, spanning four continents, she founded her own production company, Clear Insight Productions which makes theatre, opera, film, music and dance productions that represent the opportunity to find wider perspectives and new ways of seeing the world. The company has a growing team of collaborators throughout the world who are interested in the role of the arts in creating change. Procter mentors other transformational and creative businesses, as well as continuing a career as a singer, and spending time growing a balcony garden in Buenos Aires where she splits her time with Aberystwyth.
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? Your privacy is important to us - we are committed to protecting your personal information. If you sign in we use your name & email to send you periodic emails, including email newsletters & occasional business announcements & updates. Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party. If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails it is easy to do so. The news around the world is a whirl wind. We search for a horizontals that seems it will take us forever to re-find. In this light whilst leafing through old journals I found an inspiring quote from the determined British film-maker Terry Gilliam who has seen his fair share of up and downs, and the twists of outrageous fortune. Read it to take your mind back to its creative problem solving centre... As a child, I always drew funny creatures, funny characters. But I think the trick is not to grow up, not to learn to be an adult. And if you can maintain the kind of imagination you all had when you were babies, you would all be wonderful filmmakers. But the world tries to make you grow up, to stop imagining, stop fantasizing, stop playing in your mind. And I’ve worked hard to not let the world educate me. Whole article: Ten Lessons on Filmmaking From Terry Gilliam |
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