A book review about The Long Voyage: The Selected Letters of Malcolm Crowley of the writer/art critic/editor, reminded me of the importance of support in terms of talent recognition and praise/positive feedback in terms of keeping the creative fires going in others, even the most talented. According to the review, written by Dwight Garner in the New York Times, Crowley was instrumental in developing the careers of many, including author William Faulkner. According to the article, Faulkner's books were all out of print when Crowley edited "The Portable Faulkner." Of course, the publisher of the book also took a chance, but without some confidence by others, Faulkner would probably not have won the Nobel Prize four years later. As Faulkner wrote to Crowley “Damn you to hell anyway,” Faulkner wrote to him. “I didn’t know myself what I had tried to do, and how much I had succeeded.” Link on the article above for other instances of Crowley helping and nurturing very talented artists.
In my career as a writer/educator, I often think the most important gift I can give someone is encouragement and appropriate career leads/advice if asked for. I know we need to teach students so that they have the skills and abilities to succeed, but our role as educators demands more, and this is especially challenging sometimes as we look at our own careers and see opportunities lost. Of course, we can also focus on the opportunities found and trace back on people like Crowley helped us.
Some other important characteristics of an educator, as with an artist may be: irony, ability to simplify, exaggerate, and translate.
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